What should be obtained before administering the first dose of an antimicrobial?

Before administering the first dose of an antimicrobial, obtaining a blood culture and sensitivity is crucial. This procedure helps identify the specific pathogen responsible for the infection and provides information on which antibiotics will be effective against it. The culture is taken from a site of infection and allows for the testing of different antimicrobial agents to determine their effectiveness, ensuring targeted and appropriate therapy.

This proactive approach not only optimizes treatment outcomes but also helps prevent the development of antibiotic resistance by allowing for the selection of the most appropriate medication based on sensitivity results. Starting therapy before the results are available is common, particularly in severe cases, but obtaining cultures first is essential for guiding subsequent treatment decisions.

While obtaining patient consent is important, it primarily pertains to ethical considerations rather than the pharmacological appropriateness of the drug therapy itself. Gathering a patient's medical history is a valuable practice to understand allergies and previous reactions but does not specifically inform the choice of antimicrobial. Similarly, assessing drug interactions is important for safe medication practices but is secondary to first identifying the pathogen that is being treated.