∞ generated and posted on 2016.01.12 ∞
Measure of the extent to which bacterial growth can be inhibited by antibacterial chemotherapeutics.
| Antibiotic Sensitivity is less a qualitative measure as a quantitative one since an antibiotic is only as good as the concentrations of it that can be achieved within the vicinity of a target organism, with lower antibiotic concentrations required the greater the Antibiotic Sensitivity of the target organism. |
Antibiotic sensitivity occurs if an organisms is innately susceptible, to the extent that an organism lacks antibiotic resistance mechanisms, and, importantly, to the extent that the antibiotic densities at which sensitivities occur are not so high that they cause excessive side effects in to-be-treated patients.
Methods for measuring antibiotic sensitivity include the disk diffusion method and the broth dilution test. Related concepts include minimum inhibitory concentration as well as minimum bactericidal concentration.