Aminoglycosides

What are Aminoglycosides?

Aminoglycosides are a class of antibiotics used mainly in the treatment of aerobic gram-negative bacilli infections, although they are also effective against other bacteria including Staphylococci and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. They are often used in combination with other antibiotics.

(uh-MEE-noh-GLY-koh-side AN-tee-by-AH-tik) A substance that works against many types of bacteria and includes streptomycin, gentamicin, and neomycin. An aminoglycoside antibiotic is used to treat bacterial infections.

Aminoglycosides are thought to work by inhibiting protein synthesis inside bacteria. Kill rates of bacteria are increased when higher concentrations of aminoglycosides are present; however, the margin between a safe and a toxic dose is narrow and monitoring is often needed, although once daily dosing increases the safety window. Impairment of kidney function and hearing loss are the most common side effects of aminoglycosides. Aminoglycosides tend to be used when other less toxic antibiotics are contraindicated or ineffective.

The aminoglycoside class of antibiotics consists of many different agents. In the United States, gentamicin, tobramycin, amikacin, plazomicin, streptomycin, neomycin, and paromomycin are approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and are available for clinical use.

There are several drugs within the aminoglycoside class, including gentamicin, tobramycin, amikacin, neomycin, plazomicin, and streptomycin, and FDA-approved indications vary between the for these individual aminoglycosides.