Abstract
Historically, penicillins were the first “miracle drugs.” When they first became commercially available, they were used to treat everything from severe staphylococcal wound infections to gonorrhea. Initially isolated as natural products of fungi, they have had an important role in medicine and have actually permanently altered the genetics of bacteria throughout the world. These drugs are characterized by the presence of the beta-lactam ring (Fig. 4.1), which is critical to their activity.
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Further Reading
Drawz, S. M., & Bonomo, R. A. (2010). Three decades of beta-lactamase inhibitors. Clin Microbiol Rev, 23(1), 160–201.
Pichichero, M. E. (2005). A review of evidence supporting the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendation for prescribing cephalosporin antibiotics for penicillin-allergic patients. Pediatrics, 115(4), 1048–1057.
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Finberg, R.W., Guharoy, R. (2021). Penicillins. In: Clinical Use of Anti-infective Agents. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-67459-5_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-67459-5_4
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