Gentamicin Questions

[Mary3010]

1) What is the mechanism of action of gentamicin? Does this have anything to do with the drug working by either simple chemical or physical action?

2) Are hearing problems and kidney damage the main problems that the patient can suffer with from taking gentamicin?

[londonflo]

On 8/18/2020 at 8:03 PM, Mary3010 said:

We were only given online textbooks.

Many standard textbooks are available as hard copies or as online versions. Publishers are pushing colleges to choose online versions as they are easier to update, no paper printing or stock copies etc. To influence the choice of online versions they keep the cost much lower than print copies. Because the cost of textbooks is so high and can often be higher than tuition, schools often are looking to change to an online textbook. It sure beats lugging a huge book around!

That being said, is one of your online textbooks a drug handbook or a pharmacology text? Are you currently in a pharmacology course? I am glad the Davis site was referred to you. Unless your school has recommended a drug handbook, the Davis, in my opinion is the best on the market. Buying a used copy that is a year old can really lower the price. By the way, now is the time that Davis will release the 2021 edition, if you can afford it new. Books can be copyrighted as published in the next year if released in the last 3 months of the preceding year. Do know though that Davis is only a drug handbook, and a pharmacology course may require a formal pharmacology book that presents similar drugs in groups or categories.

If you are learning categories, it would be helpful to learn the category of aminoglycoside antibiotics, with Gent one aminogylycoside. What are adverse/toxic reactions/side effects of Gentamycin that are common of all aminoglycosides? Now you are learning a piece of information that is applicable to a class of drugs instead of memorizing with each drug. From A and P, what similarities in development are common to kidneys and ears? Why do many patients with chronic kidney failure also have hearing loss? As a nurse what lab value should I monitor when a patient in on Gent.

Hopefully my discussion of your learning will not overwhelm you. As you learn all the "building blocks" of nursing: A and P, pharmacology, administration of medications, you will see how they all dove-tail together. Learning in nursing is rarely tied to only one class topic.