Treatment of bacterial peritonitis.

Cefotetan is a semi-synthetic cephamycin antibiotic. It has combined activity against aerobes and anaerobes which makes it of particular use in the treatment and prevention of intra-abdominal infections in the surgical patient. In the course of 3 years we have evaluated the therapeutic use of cefotetan in 107 patients. Early in the evaluation of this antibiotic we used cefotetan in combination with aminoglycosides in 35 severely ill patients with intra-abdominal infections. These patients were generally in poor condition. Good results were obtained in this high risk group. A further 72 patients received cefotetan monotherapy, usually at a dose of 2 g twice daily. The majority of these patients presented with intra-abdominal infections. Overall a successful clinical response of 94% was obtained with antibiotic therapy. In conclusion the results obtained support the therapeutic use of cefotetan in the treatment of moderate to severe intra-abdominal infection.