Antibiotic usage in pelvic infections. An overview.

Postoperative soft-tissue pelvic infections in women most commonly are polymicrobial and mixed aerobic and anaerobic. Antibiotic prophylaxis has been advocated to reduce the risk of postcesarean endometritis and post-vaginal hysterectomy pelvic infection. The use of antibiotic prophylaxis has a tendency to select for resistant bacteria, and many of those bacteria produce beta-lactamase. A new approach to the treatment of those infections is to employ beta-lactamase inhibitors in conjunction with a broad-spectrum antibiotic, such as ticarcillin disodium plus clavulanate potassium (Timentin).