Question

A patient is being treated with an antibiotic. The nurse explains to the patient that this medication is required for the reduction of inflammation at the injury site because this medication:

A) will decrease the pain at the site.
B) helps to kill the infection causing the inflammation.
C) will reduce the patients fever.
D) inhibits cyclooxygenase.

Answer 1

Antibiotics are used to kill the infection causing the inflammation, leading to its reduction, while NSAIDs directly reduce inflammation by inhibiting cyclooxygenases.

Step-by-step explanation:

A nurse explaining that an antibiotic is needed for the reduction of inflammation at the injury site would likely be referring to its ability to help kill the infection causing the inflammation.

While antibiotics are primarily used to treat bacterial infections, they do not directly reduce inflammation. Instead, by targeting and killing the bacteria causing the infection, they can indirectly lead to a decrease in inflammation. Inflammation is part of the body’s immune response to infection, and when the underlying bacterial infection is addressed, the symptoms of inflammation should consequently subside.

It is important to distinguish antibiotics from nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as aspirin or ibuprofen. NSAIDs inhibit enzymes called cyclooxygenases, which are involved in the production of prostaglandins that promote inflammation, pain sensation, and fever. Therefore, NSAIDs can directly reduce inflammation, pain, and fever. Antibiotics don’t have these anti-inflammatory properties; their role is to combat the infection itself. Nevertheless, treating the infection can result in reduced inflammation due to the removal of the infection's inflammatory cause.