Sandbox JA

Jump to navigation Jump to search

Medical Therapy

The treatment of anthrax infection includes antimicrobial and antitoxin agents. This treatment and postexposure prophylaxis differs from other bacterial infections because:

Hospitalized patients for systemic anthrax should be immediately treated with a combination of broad-spectrum intravenous antimicrobial drug treatment pending confirmatory test results because any delay may prove fatal.

Because meningitis and hemorrhagic brain parenchymal infection was observed in ≤50% of cases, meningitis must be considered in all cases of systemic anthrax. Therefore antibiotics to treat possible meningitis must have good penetration of the central nervous system (CNS).

Because of the presence of a spore form of Bacillus anthracis, antibiotic therapy should be continued for 60 days to clear germinating organisms

Antimicrobial Treatment

Antimicrobial Treatment for Systemic Disease with Possible Meningitis

Antimicrobial Treatment for Systemic Disease If Meningitis Is Ruled Out

Follow–up Oral Treatment for Systemic Disease

Once patients with systemic illness who were exposed to aerosolized spores have completed initial combination treatment, they should be transitioned to single-agent oral treatment to prevent relapse from surviving Bacillus anthracis spores.

Treatment for Cutaneous Anthrax without Systemic Involvement

Antitoxins

An antitoxin should be added to combination antimicrobial drug treatment for any patient for whom there is a high level of clinical suspicion for systemic anthrax. Given that systemic anthrax has a high case-fatality rate and the risk for antitoxin treatment appears to be low, the potential benefit achieved by adding antitoxin to combination antimicrobial drug treatment outweighs the potential risk.

Supportive Treatment