Antimicrobial side effects present as adverse drug reactions involving one or more organ
systems. Although most antibiotics are safe considering their volume of use, some
antimicrobials have the potential for life-threatening side effects. In general, β-lactams have
the least frequent and least severe side effects. Although any antibiotic is capable of causing
side effects, specific agents from each antibiotic class are more likely to do so than others.
Clinicians should be familiar with the side-effect potential of individual antibiotics as well as …