Cefamandole therapy of endomyometritis following cesarean section.

Sixty women with endometritis following cesarean section were treated with cefamandole (12 gm/day) alone. Specimens for culture were obtained by endometrial lavage and from peripheral blood. Minimum inhibitory concentrations were performed on anaerobes and enterococci by an agar dilution technique. Anaerobic organisms were isolated in 55 of 60 (91.7%) endometrial specimens. Bacteremia was documented in 12 patients (20%). Of 387 isolates from uterine cultures, 20 (5%) were resistant or had MIC's greater than or equal to 32 micrograms/ml. Ten patients (17%) were judged clinical failures and responded to additional antibiotics. Of 19 patients with Bacteroides fragilis or related species isolates in the uterus, three (15%) were judged as failures. Cefamandole was well tolerated and appears to be useful in the initial treatment of endomyometritis.