Chapter 1: The Basics of Antibiotics: Know This
1.
What kind of drug is an antibiotic?
2.
Mechanism of action of antibiotics
3.
Antibiotic spectrum
4.
Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics
5.
How to properly administer antibiotics
6.
antibiotic resistance
7.
Antibiotic adverse reactions and skin reaction tests

Chapter 2 Things to Consider When Prescribing Antibiotics
1.
Is this a situation where antibiotics are needed?
2.
Which fungus will you target?
3.
What if the causative strain has been identified?
4.
What additional considerations should I make when choosing an antibiotic?
5.
How long should antibiotics be used?
6.
What if I don't see any improvement while taking antibiotics?

Chapter 3 Types and characteristics of major antibiotics by class
1.
Penicillin antibiotics
2.
β-lactam/β-lactamase inhibitor
3.
Cephalosporin antibiotics
4.
Carbapenem antibiotics
5.
Aminoglycoside antibiotics
6.
Quinolone antibiotics
7.
Macrolide antibiotics
8.
Glycopeptide antibiotics
9.
Tetracycline antibiotics
10.
Other antibiotics

Chapter 4 Antibiotic Selection by Major Strains
1.
Gram-positive cocci
2.
Gram-negative rods

Chapter 5 Selection of Antibiotics for Major Clinical Diseases
1.
upper respiratory tract infection
2.
Lower respiratory tract infection-pneumonia
3.
Cardiovascular infection-infective endocarditis
4.
gastrointestinal infections
5.
Abdominal and intra-abdominal infections
6.
skin soft tissue infection
7.
urinary tract infection
8.
Central nervous system infections

Chapter 6 Prophylactic Antibiotic Use
1.
Prophylactic antibiotics during surgery
2.
Prevention of infective endocarditis

Chapter 7 Antibiotic Selection for Multidrug-Resistant Strains
1.
Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Enterobacteriaceae
2.
Carbapenem-resistant gram-negative bacteria
3.
Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus

Chapter 8: Antibiotic Dosage/Usage Adjustment According to New Function

Antibiotics and anticancer drugs are both called chemotherapy.
When I think back to when I was a medical student, among the many subjects I had to study, memorizing and studying antibiotics and anticancer drugs was the most difficult for me personally.
Memorizing the ingredient names, mechanisms of action, and scope of application by dividing similar-named substances into categories was tedious and difficult in itself, and after taking the test, almost nothing remained in my head, so I considered it as studying for the test.
However, unlike anticancer drugs, which are prescribed only by some clinicians, antibiotics are drugs that must be prescribed by most clinicians.
Therefore, not only doctors specializing in infectious diseases like me, but also all clinical doctors must have accurate knowledge of antibiotics and prescribe them.
Unfortunately, even I, an infectious disease specialist, find it difficult to prescribe antibiotics effectively.
Besides, isn't medicine called 'art'?
Even within the same infectious disease specialist, preferred antibiotics for the same infectious disease may differ, and no single antibiotic can be said to be the correct answer depending on values ​​and judgment criteria.

However, there are cases where most experts can agree on a better choice of antibiotic, and cases where the use of antibiotics is deemed inappropriate by most experts.
Therefore, this book was written to help eliminate as many inappropriate choices as possible regarding antibiotic use in clinical practice and to help make better choices that many experts can agree on.
However, it is virtually impossible to cover all the details of antibiotic selection.
Additionally, the content and breadth of understanding required regarding antibiotics will inevitably vary depending on the situation in which the reader practices, whether he or she is a resident or specialist, and what subject he or she has majored in.
In fact, as an infectious disease doctor, I give lectures on antibiotics in many places, but when I was first asked to write a book, I felt at a loss.
There are already many books on antibiotics, so I was concerned about whether it would be helpful to write another book, and how much content should be covered and for whom.
After much deliberation, I concluded that the role of this book should be to help general practitioners access difficult antibiotics more easily.
Therefore, the goal of this book is to describe, as easily as possible, the principles that general physicians or specialists should consider when prescribing antibiotics in clinical practice and how to apply them in practice.
Therefore, from the perspective of a general practitioner or specialist, information that is not essential for prescribing antibiotics has been omitted as much as possible, and important parts for prescribing in actual clinical practice have been emphasized and described.
This book references several textbooks, clinical guidelines, and literature related to antibiotics.
The most representative referenced and cited materials are the 4th edition of the Korean Society of Infectious Diseases' Guide to Antibiotics, the clinical guidelines of the Korean Society of Infectious Diseases and the Korean Society for Antimicrobial Therapy, and the Sanford guide.
Several other references are listed at the end of the book.
These are excellent resources for studying not only antibiotic prescriptions but also the diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases occurring in our country, so I highly recommend that you look them up and study them together.
Although this book may not be completely satisfactory to all clinicians, I hope that many people will understand the basic principles of antibiotic use and provide better treatment through this book.