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Infection & Antibiotics for Medical Students
This webpage has been set up to provide a virtual learning resource about infection and antibiotics for medical and physician associate students. Scroll down or click here to find a variety of useful resources, guidelines, games and lecture slides.
New! 'One Minute Micro'
1-2 minute revision video animations on clinical microbiology.
Use with the 'Bugs' and 'Drugs' cribsheets
All content created by Dr Angharad Davies unless indicated otherwise
Antibiotics
Antibiotics are commonly prescribed by junior doctors but knowing which one to use in different clinical conditions can be confusing.
You can download many Trust/Health Board's antibiotic policies as an app called RxGuidelines onto your phone (find it in your app store and select your Trust/Health Board), this is incredibly useful when prescribing.
To choose antibiotics rationally, you need to answer three questions about your patient:
What is the likely source of infection?
(Clinical assessment)
Which pathogens are likely to cause infection at that site?
(Bugs - knowledge of basic clinical microbiology)
Which antibiotics are likely to cover those pathogens?
(Drugs - knowledge of antibiotic spectra)
You are already well-versed in clinical assessment. The resources page features Bugs and Drugs sections, lecture slides, national guidance documents, games such as Antibiotic Top Trumps and Bug Bingo and a list of useful external resources.
Bugs, Drugs and Resources
Bugs
PA lecture slides
Drugs
The Drugs crib-sheet is about antibiotic spectra and designed to be read after the Bugs crib-sheet.
Antibiotic Top Trumps Game
Print out this set of Antibiotic Top Trumps. Can be played via Zoom or Skype whilst socially isolating! Or rope in a long-suffering family member....
Neurological infections
GEM lecture slides
Selected microbiology lectures from SUMS PA course.
Images have been removed.
The Human Microbiota and Pathogens
Neurological infection lectures from SUMS GEM & PA course. Images have been removed.
British Infection Association Meningitis Guidance
Other Infections of the Central Nervous System
Selected microbiology lectures from SUMS GEM course. Images have been removed.
Antibiotic resistance and stewardship
Complex infections (Biomaterials)
Prosthetic Joint Infection IDSA Guidance
UTI
Pocket Guide to Antibiotic Spectra
A useful quick reference guide to some commonly used antibiotic spectra, developed in conjunction with colleagues at Cwm Taf University Health Board. Useful as a pocket guide.
External Resources
Sepsis
GEM Parasitology
Parasitology sessions from SUMS GEM course. Some images have been removed.
Malaria & Fever
in the Returning Traveller
Bug Bingo Game
Some useful external resources
The Sepsis Trust website has a range of educational resources including videos and a free dowloadable manual here
Bingo! Again you can play this by Zoom whilst socially isolating. The 'caller' has the question sheet, everyone else has the bingo grid. Shout 'penicillin' when you complete a row!
Respiratory
British Thoracic Society guidelines for community acquired pneumonia and NICE guidance for cough/acute bronchitis
Immunisation
The UK 'Green Book' brings together all documents relating to immunisation against infectious diseases. It is a very useful source of information on all vaccine preventable disease including influenza, for GEM influenza week
Questions and Feedback
As you are currently working remotely you may have questions about these topics - please contact me and I will do my best to respond as soon as I can.
I would also welcome all feedback, or suggestions for what you'd like to see here - even if it is only to say you have used the page or one of the resources so I can know whether students are accessing it. Thank you!