Antibiotics will not help a viral infection, in fact they may increase antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
2. What antiviral agents are prescribed for influenza A?
Neuroaminidase inhibitors (zanamivir, oseltamivir and permivir) as well as the adamantanes (amantadine and rimantadine) are all affective against influenza A although adamantanes will not be prescribed in the United States unless under very special circumstances (Zachary, 2015). Oseltamivir, Tamiflu is the drug of choice for influenza.
3. What are the dosage ranges, action, use, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, drug-to-drug interactions, drug to herbal or food interactions, contraindications, adverse effects, guidelines for administration, and patient teaching for the administration of antiviral agents?
The dosage ranges for an adult are 75 mg by mouth twice daily for 5 days and begun within 48 hours of the first sign of …show more content…
Patients who are not high risk and do not have severe illness should not be tested or treated for influenza A and only after the cost versus benefits are carefully considered (Zachary, 2015). In addition, individuals who do meet the guidelines for antiviral therapy should only be treated if they have presented within the first two days of symptoms because antiviral therapy will not be beneficial if they present after that time frame (Zachary, 2015). Due to the high false negative rates of rapid influenza tests and the rapid proliferation of the influenza virus, patients who present within 48 hours and meet the treatment guidelines, should receive immediate antiviral treatment even if the rapid test results are negative (Zachary,