Management of Complicated Appendicitis and Comparison of Outcome with Other Primary Sites of Intra-abdominal Infection: Results of a Trial Comparing Ertapenem and Piperacillin-Tazobactam

Abstract

A post-hoc analysis of data from a trial of complicated intra-abdominal infection was performed to compare the demographic and disease characteristics of patients with complicated appendicitis to those whose primary infection involved other intraabdominal sites, assess the impact of site of primary infection on outcome, and compare the efficacy and safety of ertapenem 1 g daily with piperacillin-tazobactam 3.375 g every 6 h for treatment of complicated appendicitis. Compared with patients who had primary infection of the colon or another site in the abdomen, patients with complicated appendicitis were younger, had less severe disease (based on lower APACHE II score and lower proportion with generalized peritonitis), and were less likely to be managed by percutaneous drainage of an abscess or to have a postoperative infection. Patients with complicated appendicitis were more likely to have a favorable outcome than were patients with infection of the colon (OR, 3.02; 95% CI, [1.54-5.90]; P = .001). At the test-of-cure assessment, 109/123 (88.6%) microbiologically evaluable patients with complicated appendicitis who received ertapenem and 102/113 (90.3%) who received piperacillin-tazobactam had a favorable combined clinical and microbiologic outcome. The frequency and severity of drug-related adverse events were similar in the two treatment groups.

Keywords:

• Ertapenem
• appendicitis
• clinical trial