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Single‐Agent versus Combination Antibiotic Therapy in the Management of Intraabdominal Infections
Author(s) -
DiPiro Joseph T.,
Cué Jorge I.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
pharmacotherapy: the journal of human pharmacology and drug therapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.227
H-Index - 109
eISSN - 1875-9114
pISSN - 0277-0008
DOI - 10.1002/j.1875-9114.1994.tb02820.x
Subject(s) - medicine , clindamycin , metronidazole , adverse effect , antibiotics , antimicrobial , regimen , aztreonam , combination therapy , intensive care medicine , drug , surgery , pharmacology , antibiotic resistance , imipenem , biology , microbiology and biotechnology
For the treatment of intraabdominal infection, single‐agent antimicrobial regimens such as β‐lactams with good antianaerobic activity are frequent alternatives to combination regimens such as aminoglycosides or aztreonam plus an antianaerobic agent such as clindamycin or metronidazole. The major issues in selecting a regimen are relative efficacy, potential for adverse drug effects, and cost. Single agents are clearly equivalent to combinations in preventing infectious complications after penetrating abdominal trauma and in treating established intraabdominal infections of mild to moderate severity or in relatively low‐risk patients. A few trials demonstrated their equivalency in patients at high risk of mortality, although experience is limited. Single‐agent regimens may reduce the risks of adverse drug effects compared with combination regimens, but they are not always less expensive.