Introduction: Antibiotic treatment is an important element in infection control after urgent abdominal surgery. The aim of this study was to determine the therapeutic efficacy of piperacillin-tazobactam versus a combination of 2 antibiotics (metronidazole and gentamicin) in patients undergoing urgent appendicular and/or colorectal surgery.
Patients and method: The study period comprised December 1998 to December 2002. A total of 183 patients who required urgent surgery for colon disease and/or severe acute appendicitis were prospectively and randomly included. Patients were randomly distributed in 2 groups. Group A received piperacillin-tazobactam (4/0.5/8 h/i.v.) and group B received metronidazole (500 mg/i.v./8 h) plus gentamicin (5 mg/kg/i.v./24 h). Treatment was started between 30 and 60 minutes prior to surgery and was continued for at least 3 days.
Results: The incidence of wound infection in patients who underwent surgery for colon disease and acute appendicitis was lower when they were treated with piperacillin-tazobactam (P< .05). The incidence of intraperitoneal abscess in the group of patients who underwent surgery for severe acute appendicitis was lower when they were treated with piperacillin-tazobactam. Microbiological analyses revealed that there was a predominance of infection due to Escherichia coli.
Conclusions: The association of piperacillin-tazobactam was more effective than that of metronidazole and gentamicin in the prevention and treatment of local infection in the treated groups. Therapeutic failure was mainly related to the presence of gram-negative bacteria.