Antibiotic Regimens for Intra-Abdominal Infections

Clinicians tend to use broad-spectrum antibiotic regimens for patients with intra-abdominal infections, because these infections are frequently polymicrobial. In this multicenter, international, double-blind, randomized trial supported by the maker of ciprofloxacin, researchers compared 2 antibiotic regimens in 459 patients with complicated intra-abdominal infections requiring surgery or percutaneous drainage.

Patients received either ciprofloxacin plus metronidazole (CIP+MET; at first intravenously, then orally after clinical improvement), or IV piperacillin/tazobactam (PIP/TAZO); both groups averaged about 10 days of antibiotic therapy. In an intent-to-treat analysis, there was no significant difference in the clinical response rate (75 pe…