The difference between oral and intravenous antibiotics is reflected in the following:
I. The way drugs are given
• Oral antibiotics: patients are given oral means, such as tablets, capsules, etc., and are required to swallow themselves.
• Intravenous antibiotics: soluble drugs in liquids and enter patients directly through intravenous injections, usually by medical personnel.
II. Time for impact
• Oral antibiotics: the time of effect is relatively slow, as drug concentrations are increasing, requiring gastrointestinal digestion and absorption. It may take hours to days to reach the peak blood concentration and to begin to function as a visible antibacterial.
• Intravenous antibiotics: The drug enters the blood circulation system directly and does not need to go through the gastrointestinal absorption process, and therefore works faster. Effective concentrations can normally be achieved within minutes to hours and antibacterial effects can be performed quickly.
Drug concentrations
• Oral antibiotics: Because drugs require gastrointestinal digestion and absorption, some drugs may be disaggregated or metabolized during absorption, resulting in relatively low concentrations of drugs entering the blood cycle.
• Intravenous antibiotics: The drug enters the blood cycle directly and avoids gastrointestinal digestion and absorption, resulting in relatively high drug concentrations. This contributes to the rapid achievement of effective antibacterial concentrations and better functioning of the treatment.
IV. Drug effects
• Oral antibiotics: The efficacy of the drug may be relatively weak due to its relatively low concentrations. Oral antibiotics are usually effective enough for minor infections or self-healable wounds. However, oral antibiotics may not be able to achieve treatment quickly in cases of severe infections or those requiring rapid control.
• Intravenous antibiotics: the drug is more effective due to high drug concentrations. Intravenous antibiotics are usually more effective in cases of severe infections or those requiring rapid control. It can quickly kill or inhibit the growth of bacteria, reduce the symptoms of infection and help patients to recover more quickly.
V. SAFETY AND ANNOTATIONS
• Oral antibiotics: Because of the need to digest and absorb drugs through the gastrointestinal tract, some drugs may have irritating or adverse effects on the gastrointestinal tract. However, as drug concentrations are relatively low, side effects are usually minor.
• Intravenous antibiotics: Although drugs enter the blood cycle directly, avoiding gastrointestinal tract irritation, high drug concentrations may increase the risk of adverse reactions of patients. In particular, for some patients with an allergy history, the use of intravenous antibiotics requires a leather test to ensure safety. In addition, intravenous injections may cause complications such as intravenous disease, haemobolism, etc.
VI. Use of scenes and choices
• Oral antibiotics: applicable in cases of mild infections, self-healable wounds or long-term treatment. It is easy for patients to take them on their own, without the need for medical personnel.
• Intravenous antibiotics: applies in cases of severe infection, requiring rapid control of symptoms or where the patient is unable to take oral antibiotics. It needs to be operated by medical personnel in hospitals or clinics to ensure the safe and effective use of drugs.
Based on the above, there are significant differences in the way oral and intravenous antibiotics are administered, the time of their effects, drug concentrations, their efficacy, safety and side effects, as well as the scene and choice of their use. The choice of antibiotics should be based on a combination of the patient ‘ s specific condition, the area of infection and individual differences, with reasonable use under the direction of a doctor.
