A comparative study of cefamandole versus gentamicin plus clindamycin in the treatment of documented or suspected bacterial peritonitis

Our data support the premise that antimicrobial therapy for peritonitis must be individualized. In the patient with minimal and moderate contamination who is not suppressed and who will undergo prompt and correct surgical therapy, then a single antimicrobial agent, such as cefamandole or perhaps even a first generation cephalosporin, such as cefazolin, will be adequate therapy even in instances of polymicrobial peritonitis when anticipated resistant organisms are present. In this situation, a single drug will be just as effective and safer when compared with the combination of an aminoglycoside and a specific antianaerobic agent. On the other hand, in the patient with immunosuppression, who is late to come to treatment or who has hospital acquired sepsis with probably a large contamination of resistant organisms, either a third generation cephalosporin with extended coverage or triple drug therapy, including a broad spectrum penicillin, an aminoglycoside and an anaerobic effective agent, should be the treatment of choice. Also, for infections with a culture proved overwhelming anaerobic flora, an antimicrobial specific for these pathogens should be used. The dictum, however, that all instances of peritonitis mandate double or triple drug therapy is a clinical impression based upon experimental models which do not correctly simulate the clinical situation.