Question

Multiple-drug resistant microbes: a. are resistant to all antimicrobial agents b. respond to new antimicrobials by developing resistance c. frequently develop in hospitals d. all of the above?

1) are resistant to all antimicrobial agents
2) respond to new antimicrobials by developing resistance
3) frequently develop in hospitals
4) all of the above

Answer 1

Multiple-drug resistant microbes are not necessarily resistant to all antimicrobial agents, but they do frequently develop resistance and are often found in hospital environments due to the prevalent use of antibiotics and a concentration of vulnerable patients.

Step-by-step explanation:

The correct answer to whether multiple-drug resistant microbes (MDRs):

1. Are resistant to all antimicrobial agents
2. Respond to new antimicrobials by developing resistance
3. Frequently develop in hospitals
4. All of the above

is that MDRs frequently develop in hospitals and respond to new antimicrobials by developing resistance. They may not be resistant to all antimicrobial agents as there might still be some drugs to which they have not been exposed or that can still affect them. The development of MDRs is often associated with the incorrect use of antimicrobials, overuse, misuse, and patient noncompliance, leading to a selection of resistant strains. Hospitals are common environments where such resistance develops due to the high use of antibiotics and the presence of vulnerable patient populations, facilitating the spread of these resistant microbes.

Answer 2

Multidrug-resistant microbes are not resistant to all antimicrobials but have developed resistance to multiple drugs. They are frequent in hospitals due to factors like antibiotic misuse and patient noncompliance. The correct option regarding multiple-drug-resistant microbes is Option 3) frequently develop in hospitals.

Step-by-step explanation:

When we discuss multidrug-resistant microbes (MDRs), we refer to the group of pathogens that carry one or more resistance mechanisms, making them resistant to multiple antimicrobials. These are often called superbugs. One form of resistance, cross-resistance, occurs when a single resistance mechanism confers resistance to multiple antimicrobial drugs. This could involve having an efflux pump that exports various drugs, thereby providing resistance to them all at once.

Factors that contribute to the rise of MDRs include overuse and misuse of antibiotics, improper antimicrobial use, subtherapeutic dosing, and patient noncompliance. Hospitals are frequent breeding grounds for MDRs due to the high use of antibiotics in these settings, leading to the presence of resistant bacteria like MRSA, or drug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria which can result in nosocomial, or hospital-acquired, infections.

When answering the question on multiple-drug resistant microbes, the correct option is (3) frequently developed in hospitals. Other choices such as being resistant to all antimicrobial agents or responding to new antimicrobials by developing resistance are too broad and do not capture the precise nature of MDRs. While it's true that MDRs can develop resistance to new antimicrobials, they are not resistant to all antimicrobial agents, as this would refer to pan-resistance, which is distinct from multidrug resistance.