Intra-abdominal abscesses: Microbiological epidemiology and empirical antibiotherapy

Area of Science:

• Infectious Diseases
• Microbiology
• Surgical Infections

Background:

• Intra-abdominal abscesses (IAAs) are significant causes of morbidity.
• Microbiological data on IAAs are limited, hindering optimal treatment strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the microbiological epidemiology of IAAs.
• To guide the optimization of empirical antibiotic therapy for IAAs.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 243 IAA cases from January 2015 to December 2020.
• Collection of clinical and microbiological data, including antibiotic susceptibilities.

Main Results:

• Most IAAs (57.2%) were healthcare-associated and frequently polymicrobial (81.9%).
• Common pathogens included Enterobacterales, Enterococcus sp., and anaerobes.
• High susceptibility rates were observed for meropenem (99.5%) and piperacillin-tazobactam (84.9% for Gram-negatives, 81.8% for Gram-positives).

Conclusions:

• IAAs exhibit a polymicrobial nature with reduced susceptibility to amoxicillin-clavulanic acid.
• Piperacillin-tazobactam is recommended as the preferred empirical antibiotic treatment for IAAs.