Why do doctors need to know if a bacterial infection is gram positive or gram negative?

Answer 1

Gram-positive bacteria have more peptidoglycan layers in their cell walls than Gram-negative and so are able to retain a crystal violet dye during the Gram stain process. Gram-positive bacteria appear blue or violet under a microscope, whereas Gram-negative bacteria appear red or pink. The purpose of Gram staining is to visually differentiate groups of bacteria, primarily for identification.

The following characteristics are generally present in a Gram-positive bacterium:[1] # Cytoplasmic membrane # Thick peptidoglycan layer # Teichoic acids and lipoteichoic acids are present, which serve to act as chelating agents, and also for certain types of adherence. # Capsule polysaccharides # If a flagellum is present, it contains two rings for support as opposed to four in Gram-negative bacteria because Gram-positive bacteria have only one membrane layer.

Answer 2

Identifying if a bacterial infection is gram positive or negative helps determine the appropriate antibiotic to prescribe, as different antibiotics are effective against different types of bacteria. This information also allows doctors to predict the likely response of the infection to treatment and to tailor therapy more effectively.

Answer 3

gram- negative and gram- positive bacteria differ in their response to different antibiotics

Answer 4

so your parents or a person from your family know rather your in danger or out of danger:)

Answer 5

This tells us what the chemical makeup of the cell is and also how thick the cell wall is. Used alot in the medical field :)