Ticarcillin/clavulanate. An alternative to combination antibiotic therapy for treating soft tissue pelvic infections in women.

Soft tissue pelvic infections--i.e., postpartum endometritis, endometritis, pelvic inflammatory disease and pelvic cellulitis--are predominantly polymicrobial. The microflora of these infections consists of a mixture of gram-positive and -negative bacteria, including aerobes and facultative and obligate anaerobes. Clindamycin plus gentamicin has been the principal antibiotic combination utilized for treatment of these infections. Ticarcillin/clavulanate appears to be an excellent replacement for initiating empiric therapy for these infections because of its safety and broad spectrum of activity, which includes gram-negative and -positive aerobic and anaerobic bacteria.