Ertapenem versus ceftriaxone and metronidazole as treatment for complicated intra-abdominal infections

Narcisco S. Navarro, Maria I. Campos, Ramon Alvarado, Nora Quintero, Frank J. Branicki, Junmin Wei, Malathi Shivaprakash, France Vrijens, Hilde Giezek, Christina Y. Chan, Mark J. DiNubile

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

24 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Background: Prompt surgical intervention supplemented by appropriate antimicrobial therapy is usually required for successful treatment of complicated intra-abdominal infections. The objective of this study was to further evaluate the efficacy and safety of ertapenem relative to ceftriaxone/metronidazole as treatment for complicated intra-abdominal infections. Methods: Adult patients with intra-abdominal infections requiring surgery were eligible for this open-label randomized trial comparing ertapenem 1 g daily with ceftriaxone 2 g daily plus metronidazole 30 mg/kg/day. The primary efficacy outcome was the clinical response rate in clinically and microbiologically evaluable participants at the test-of-cure (TOC) visit 2 weeks after discontinuation of therapy. All treated patients were included in the safety analysis. Results: Participant demographics, disease characteristics, and duration of therapy in both treatment groups were generally similar. Escherichia coli was the most commonly isolated baseline pathogen, recovered in 52% of cases in each treatment group. Favorable clinical responses were achieved at TOC in 143 (96.6%) of 148 ertapenem recipients and in 146 (96.7%) of 151 ceftriaxone/metronidazole recipients. The frequencies of drug-related adverse events, most commonly nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, and elevated platelet count, were generally comparable in both treatment arms. Four ertapenem recipients (1.8%) and one ceftriaxone/metronidazole recipient (0.4%) experienced serious drug-related adverse events. Conclusions: In this study, ertapenem and ceftriaxone/metronidazole were comparably effective treatments for adult patients with complicated intra-abdominal infections.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)25-34
Number of pages10
JournalInternational Journal of Surgery
Volume3
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2005
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Ceftriaxone
  • Ertapenem
  • Intra-abdominal infection
  • Metronidazole

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Medicine(all)

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Ertapenem versus ceftriaxone and metronidazole as treatment for complicated intra-abdominal infections'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this