Cephalosporin therapy in intra-abdominal infection: comparative studies of cefotetan, latamoxef and cefoxitin.

Two sequential randomised studies were performed to assess the efficacy of 3 different cephalosporins in the treatment of established intra-abdominal infections. In the first study 102 of 109 (94%) patients given cefotetan 2g iv every 12 hours had a satisfactory clinical response compared to 51 of 56 (91%) patients given latamoxef 2g iv every 8 hours. In the second study cefotetan 2g iv every 12 hours was compared to cefoxitin 2g iv every 6 hours with satisfactory clinical responses in 93 of 95 (98%) cefotetan-treated patients and 41 of 43 (95%) cefoxitin-treated patients. Overall response rates in the two studies were lower in patients with severe peritonitis (82%) or nosocomial infections (70%). Twelve-hourly dosing with cefotetan appears to be as effective and well tolerated in regional peritonitis as treatment with shorter-acting agents.