Antibiotic and Antimicrobial Therapy

The first antimicrobial decision is not simply “give an antibiotic.” The nurse must help determine how urgently treatment is needed, obtain useful microbiology without creating delay, administer the prescribed therapy safely, and identify whether infection is already impairing organ perfusion. The word antimicrobial includes antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, and antiparasitic drugs. The first-hour priorities centre on suspected bacterial infection with sepsis or septic shock, where delay can permit ongoing pathogen growth and inflammatory injury. Empiric therapy should cover the organisms most likely at the suspected source, then become narrower when cultures, susceptibility results, or the clinical picture support narrowing. There is no single Canadian sepsis pathway. The international Surviving Sepsis Campaign guideline is implemented through provincial and health-authority pathways, so screening triggers, order sets, and escalation routes vary locally. Medication administration is likewise governed by the nurse’s provincial or territorial regulator, employer policy, and the authorized prescription, order, or directive.