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Are Beta Lactam Antibiotics Used As A Last Resort Of Antibiotics?

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Carbapenems are Beta lactam antibiotics used as a last resort in medical treatment against several bacterial infections as they possess the broadest spectrum of activity against various gram positive, gram negative and aerobic bacteria (Papp-Wallace et al. 2011). Originally developed from the carbapenem thienamycin which demonstrated the utmost antimicrobial activity, Carbapenems consist of six antibiotics: Doripenem, panipenem, biapenem, imipenem, meropenem and ertapenem all currently present in clinical use (Boromo et al 2011). Carbapenems all have a variety of vital roles in medicine and have helped reduce the threat of severe bacterial infections since the rise of multidrug-resistant pathogens. This can be seen with panipenem which is taken with betamipron to inhibit the uptake of panipenem into the renal tube of the kidney, proving effective in treating surgical and respiratory infections (Goa & Noble, 2003). Although Carbapenem has proved useful as a last resort of antibiotics, enterobacteriaceae a gram negative bacteria commonly consisting of Klebsiella and Escherichia species, has developed mechanisms of resistance to carbapenems (Duin and Perez 2015).These carbapenem resistant enterobacteriaceae (CRE) portray a new profound danger worldwide and require sustained efforts to control as there is little success on the elaboration of antibiotics to replace carbapenem and therefore limiting therapeutic options available to patients.
Thienamycin when first discovered

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