Bacteriological study of 28 patients with intraabdominal infection in Japan.

Intraabdominal infections are usually polymicrobial, including both aerobes and anaerobes. To assess the importance of anaerobes in intraabdominal infection, a bacteriological study was performed. The subjects studied were 28 inpatients with acute abdomen who visited Gifu Red Cross Hospital, Gifu, Japan, between May 1996 and July 1998. Twenty-one patients had abscess or peritonitis caused by perforation of the gastrointestinal tract, 4 had liver abscess, 2 had pelvic abscess, and 1 had retroperitoneal and subcutaneous abscess. Most specimens were cultured within 6 h after sampling. Using the E test, we tested the susceptibilities of isolates to 11 antimicrobial agents. Anaerobes were predominantly recovered from intraabdominal infection caused by perforation of the small bowel, appendix, and large bowel. The anaerobes isolated were resistant to the cephems tested, to which the aerobic strains were susceptible. It is suggested that carbapenems may be the choice for treatment of severe intraabdominal infection, especially that resulting from perforation of the small bowel, appendix, and large bowel.