THE DISTURBANCE OF THE NORMAL BACTERIAL ECOLOGY BY THE ADMINISTRATION OF ANTIBIOTICS WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW CLINICAL SYNDROMES
Authors: D T SMITH
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1952)

Article1 December 1952THE DISTURBANCE OF THE NORMAL BACTERIAL ECOLOGY BY THE ADMINISTRATION OF ANTIBIOTICS WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW CLINICAL SYNDROMESDAVID T. SMITH, M.D., F.A.C.P.DAVID T. SMITH, M.D., F.A.C.P.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-37-6-1135 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptEvidence is accumulating to show that the complex balance which exists among microörganisms constituting the normal flora of the body is disturbed by the prolonged administration of the newer antibiotics. This may result in the development of secondary vitamin deficiencies or the evolution of new infectious disease syndromes.The importance of the normal microbiologic flora in man was not appreciated until it was disorganized by the administration of the newer antibiotics. The basic phenomenon is not new, and biologists dealing with parasitic diseases of plants are familiar with the importance of the normal flora of the soil and its influence...Bibliography1. Waksman SA: Antagonistic relations of microörganisms, Bact. Rev. 5: 231 (Sept.) 1941. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. WolfWolf FAFT: The fungi, vol. 2, 1947, John Wiley and Sons, New York, p. 279. Google Scholar3. Garrett SD: Ecology of the root inhabiting fungi, Biol. Reviews 25: 220 (April) 1950. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Davison WC: The duodenal content of infants in health, and during and following diarrhea, Am. J. Dis. Child. 29: 743 (June) 1925. CrossrefGoogle Scholar5. MillerHammondTompkins CPCWM: The incidence of bacteremia in mice subject to total body x-radiation, Science 111: 540 (May 19) 1950. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar6. Smith DT: Bacterial ecology and flora of the normal body, in Zinsser's Textbook of bacteriology, 1942, Appleton-Century-Crofts, New York. Google Scholar7. ThompsonShibuya RM: The inhibitory action of saliva on the diphtheria bacillus: the antibiotic effect of salivary streptococci, J. Bact. 51: 671 (June) 1946. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar8. WoodsManningPatterson JWIHCN: Monilia infections complicating the therapeutic use of antibiotics, J. A. M. A. 145: 207 (Jan. 27) 1951. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar9. FoleyWinter GEWD: Increased mortality following penicillin therapy of chick embryos infected with Candida albicans var. stellatoidea , J. Infect. Dis. 85: 268 (Nov.-Dec.) 1949. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar10. Garrod LP: Reactions of bacteria to chemotherapeutic agents, Brit. M. J. 1: 205 (Feb. 3) 1951. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar11. Weinstein L: The spontaneous occurrence of new bacterial infections during the course of treatment with streptomycin or penicillin, Am. J. M. Sc. 214: 56 (July) 1947. CrossrefGoogle Scholar12. MeadsRoweHaslam MWPNM: Alterations in bacterial flora of the throat during oral therapy with aureomycin, Arch. Int. Med. 87: 533 (April) 1951. CrossrefGoogle Scholar13. Marwin RM: Relative incidence of Candida albicans on the skins of persons with or without skin diseases, J. Invest. Dermat. 12: 229 (April) 1949. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar14. Schnoor TG: The occurrence of monilia in normal stools, Am. J. Trop. Med. 19: 163 (March) 1939. CrossrefGoogle Scholar15. CarterJones BCP: A study of the vaginal flora in the normal female, South. M. J. 30: 298 (March) 1937. CrossrefGoogle Scholar16. McVaySprunt LVDH: A study of moniliasis in aureomycin therapy, Proc. Soc. Exper. Biol. and Med. 78: 759 (Dec.) 1951. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar17. Ravits HG: Cutaneous cryptococcosis, a survey of cryptococcus on normal and pathologic skin, J. Invest. Dermat. 12: 271 (May) 1949. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar18. Harris HJ: Aureomycin and chloramphenicol in brucellosis with special reference to side effects, J. A. M. A. 142: 161 (Jan. 21) 1950. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar19. Williams B: Oral and pharyngeal complications of chloramphenicol (Chloromycetin) therapy, Am. Pract. and Digest. Treat. 1: 897 (Aug.) 1950. MedlineGoogle Scholar20. Finland M: The present status of antibiotics in bacterial infections, Bull. New York Acad. Med. 27: 199 (April) 1951. MedlineGoogle Scholar21. GausewitzJonesWorley PLFSG: Fatal generalized moniliasis, Am. J. Clin. Path. 21: 41 (Jan.) 1951. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar22. YoungRettger RMLF: Decomposition of vitamin C by bacteria, J. Bact. 46: 351 (Oct.) 1943. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar23. DamGlavindOrla-JensenOrla-Jensen HJSAD: Bildung von Vitamin K in Colibakterien auf synthetischem Substrat, Naturwiss. 29: 287 (May) 1941. CrossrefGoogle Scholar24. Knight BC: Growth factors in microbiology, Vitamins and Hormones 3: 105 1945. CrossrefGoogle Scholar25. NajjarBarrett VAR: The synthesis of B vitamins by intestinal bacteria, Vitamins and Hormones 3: 23, 1945. CrossrefGoogle Scholar26. Leitner ZA: Vitamin deficiency and antibiotics, Correspondence, Brit. M. J. 1: 491 (Feb. 25) 1950. CrossrefGoogle Scholar27. BlackOvermanElvehjemLink SRSCAKP: The effect of sulfaguanidine on rat growth and plasma prothrombin, J. Biol. Chem. 145: 137 (Sept.) 1942. CrossrefGoogle Scholar28. Smith DT: Nicotinic acid deficiency (pellagra), M. Clin. North America 27: 379 (March) 1943. CrossrefGoogle Scholar29. SmithSmith DTSG: Relation of vitamin deficiency to focal infection, Tr. Am. Clin. and Climatol. A. 49, 1933. MedlineGoogle Scholar30. SmithMartin DTDS: The significance of hypersenstivity in diagnostic tests and in the therapy of infectious diseases, North Carolina M. J. 8: 160 (March) 1947. MedlineGoogle Scholar31. SmithSmithCallaway SGDTJL: Dysfunction of the sebaceous glands associated with pellagra, J. Invest. Dermat. 4: 23 (Feb.) 1941. CrossrefGoogle Scholar32. Keefer CS: Alteration of normal bacterial flora of man and secondary infections during therapy, Am. J. Med. 11: 665 (Dec.) 1951. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar33. Editorial: Bacterial versatility, Ann. Int. Med. 36: 196 (Jan.) 1952. LinkGoogle Scholar This content is PDF only. To continue reading please click on the PDF icon. Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: DAVID T. SMITH, M.D., F.A.C.P.Affiliations: Durham, North Carolina*Presented at the Thirty-third Annual Session of the American College of Physicians, Cleveland, Ohio, April 25, 1952.From the Departments of Bacteriology and Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited bySalmonella versus the MicrobiomeEnlisting commensal microbes to resist antibiotic-resistant pathogensPENICILLINTETRACYCLINESFinland, Weinstein, and the Birth of Antibiotic RegretPneumonia in ventilated patients. Severe Gram negative infections; the impact on mortality and its preventionSelective decontamination of the digestive tract: Rationale behind evidence-based use in liver transplantationPattern of bacteraemia in febrile children with sickle cell anaemiaSelective Gastrointestinal Decontamination History of recognition and measurement of colonization resistance of the digestive tract as an introduction to selective gastrointestinal decontaminationInfection control during neutropeniaAnuria in a premature infant due to ureteropelvic fungal bezoarsNeglected NichesThe digestive tract in immunocompromised patients: importance of maintaining its resistance to colonization, especially in hospital in-patients and those taking antibioticsMedical Management of Antimicrobial-Associated Diarrhea and ColitisEndogenous E. coli endophthalmitisMicrobial Suprainfection: Recognition and ManagementEffect of Oxytetracycline in a Periodontal Pack on Sensitivity and Numbers of Tongue FloraFungal Flora of the Normal Human Small and Large IntestineEffects of Topical Corticosteroids and Antibiotics on Mycotic Flora of ConjunctivaThe role of antibiotics in the pathogenesis of Candida infectionsMechanisms by which antibiotics increase the incidence and severity of candidiasis and alter the immunological defensesFungal flora of the conjunctival sac in healthy and diseased eyes.The effect of long-term systemic antibiotic administration on the numbers of salivary organismsSaprophytische und pathogene Bakterien der HautMykosenBalanitis, Phimose und Paraphimose. Akute Gangrän der GenitalienAnalisis de 6000 especímenes micológicos Sintesis estadística. — ComentariosBacteremia Due to Gram-negative Bacilli Review of 113 Cases Encountered in the Five-year Period 1955 through 1959MARTIN C. MCHENRY, M.D., WILLIAM J. MARTIN, M.D., F.A.C.P., WILLIAM E. WELLMAN, M.D.Die AntibioticaThe Expanding Field of Pulmonary DiseasesTHE INFLUENCE OF PENICILLIN THERAPY ON THE EMERGENCE OF KLEBSIELLAE IN SPUTUM*GEORGE M. EISENBERG, D.SC., WILLIAM WEISS, M.D., HARRISON F. FLIPPIN, M.D., F.A.C.P.FATAL FUNGUS INFECTION IN SARCOIDOSIS: REPORT OF TWO CASES TREATED WITH ANTIBIOTICS AND CORTISONE*ISRAEL STEINBERG, M.D., F.A.C.P.The Microbiology of the Oral CavityAntibiotics—Risks, Abuses, PrecautionsPseudomembranous enterocolitisMoniliasis in surgeryDie praktische Bedeutung der Darmflora für den MenschenDarmflora, Vitamine und AntibioticaUntersuchungen zur Frage der Wachstumsstimulierung von Candida albicans durch AntibioticaDiseases of Medical ProgressPSEUDOMEMBRANOUS ENTEROCOLITIS AND ANTIBIOTICS*C. R. NEWMAN, M.D., F.A.C.P.The incidence of Candida in obstetrical patientsThe bacterial flora of the intestinal tract: Changes in diarrheal disease and following antimicrobial therapyTherapy for Pulmonary and Systemic Fungus DiseasesDisseminated, Fatal, Postpartum Candidiasis with Renal Suppuration: Case ReportStreptomycin and Dihydrostreptomycin: Applied PharmacologyToxicology of the AntibioticsStudies of Bacterial Throat Flora during Chemoprophylaxis of Rheumatic FeverCurrent Status of the Clinical Use of Antibiotic-Vitamin CombinationsChronic poliomyelitic respirator deathsVeränderungen der bakteriellen Darmflora von an akuten Enterocolitiden erkrankten Säuglingen nach Behandlung mit Chloramphenicol und TerramycinPULMONARY INFECTION IN SJÖGREN'S DISEASE (KERATOCONJUNCTIVITIS SICCA): A REPORT OF A FATAL CASEComplications of antibiotic therapyThe apparent activation of salmonella enteritis by oxytetracyclineManagement of Hemophilus influenzae, type B, meningitisUntoward Reactions to AntibioticsEffect of Antibiotic Therapy on MucoviscidosisInfections Occurring during ChemotherapyMicrococcic (Staphylococcic) Enteritis: Recovery Following ShockTHE CALCULATED RISKS OF CHEMOTHERAPYMONILIASIS FOLLOWING ANTIBIOTIC THERAPYADVANCES IN ANTIBIOTIC THERAPY*JAMES W. HAVILAND, M.D., F.A.C.P. 1 December 1952Volume 37, Issue 6 Page: 1135-1143 Keywords Antibiotics Bacteriology Biologists Ecology Infectious diseases Parasitic diseases ePublished: 1 December 2008 Issue Published: 1 December 1952 PDF downloadLoading ...