Intraabdominal Infection

Intraabdominal Infection General Information

Intraabdominal Infection is a widely spread clinical term that defines an infection that has extended beyond the hollow viscus. The infection is located within the patient’s abdominal cavity. In time, this medical condition leads to abscess, peritonitis, appendicitis, diverticulitis, cholescystitis, and so on. This medical disorder is a commonly encountered problem in today’s surgical practice. Unfortunately, the presence of this infectious disease often leads to significant mortality and morbidity. Although several effective medicines (antimicrobial agents) are available on the market and should be able to deal with such a medical condition, some of them do not provide a sufficient activity spectrum against all types of organisms, while others determine the appearance of a set of severe, unwanted, and sometimes dangerous side effects.

The most common pathogens that are responsible for the appearance of an Intraabdominal Infection include gram-negative bacilli such as Morganella morganii and Proteus, Escherichia coli, Enterobacter and Klebsiella species. Other pathogens that belong to the class of obligate anaerobes include Bacteroides, Clostridium, Fusobacterium, Peptostreptococcus, Peptococcus, and Lactobacillus. In some cases, it was proven that infection was caused by gram-positive cocci such as Streptococcus Staphylococcus and / or Enterococci. However, statistics show that the pathogens that are responsible for most of these infectious conditions that are located within the patient’s abdomen are Bacteroides fragilis, Enterobacteriaceae and E. coli.

Intraabdominal Infection Symptoms

The presence of most infectious conditions leads to the appearance of several clinical manifestations of an unpleasant and abnormal nature that are sometimes useful in setting a proper diagnosis. For this reason it is necessary for patients who are about to undergo a surgery to be constantly informed about the regular signs and / or symptoms that are associated with most Intraabdominal Infections. Early diagnosis is very important, as in the case of the most complicated infections that affect the patient’s abdomen, a surgical procedure is required within the next day (24 hours).

The presence of this type of infectious disease triggers a set of common symptoms that can be easily associated with the presence of another medical condition. For this reason, only a well trained health care provider is able to set a proper diagnosis (that is generally based on the symptoms and on a set of clinical exams). The most common clinical manifestations that may be triggered by an Intraabdominal Infection include abdominal pain, vomiting and / or nausea, abdominal tenderness (that is quite visible during palpitation), systemic signs of inflammation, muscle rigidity (especially in the muscles of the abdominal wall), fever, and so on. This is not a complete list of all the symptoms and / or signs that are associated with the presence of an Intraabdominal Infection. For further information contact your personal doctor.

Intraabdominal Infection Treatment

As you have already seen, a diagnosis that states Intraabdominal Infection refers to a wide set of clinical disorders. In this chapter, we intend to present you some of the most effective therapy measures against some infections of the same kind. You will also find here a set of precious indications regarding the most common treatments against such infectious disorders.

The antimicrobial therapy is the main treatment option against most Intraabdominal Infections. This type of therapy should be administered to the patient for about a week (the average treatment span is known to last from five to seven days in the case of localized abdominal abscess and / or generalized peritonitis). If the patient presents a persistent elevation in the count of his or her white blood cells after this type of therapy, there is an urgent need for reevaluation of the initial diagnosis, as the individual might be suffering from an undrained abdominal abscess and / or from an extra-abdominal infection.

Any injuries that affect the bowel that have been repaired within 12 hours after the contamination, or any other intra-operative mistakes that have lead to the unwanted contamination of the peritoneal cavity ought to be treated with antibiotics. If the patient is suffering from appendicitis that does not present perforation (another type of Intraabdominal Infection), or from abscess, gangrene, or any other similar disorders, a day of antibiotic therapy should be administered at once. For this purpose, most physicians choose antibiotics that are active against obligate and facultative anaerobes.

Other types of infections located in the abdomen (like acute cholecystitis) should only be treated with antibiotics that have shown to be effective against that particular infectious disorder. The choice of antibiotics that should provide the best beneficial results should be dictated by the community factors, hospital, and patient. Most community-acquired infectious diseases require a special antibiotic therapy that is effective against gram-positive cocci, facultative bacilli and gram-negative aerobics. In the case of Intraabdominal Infections that emanate from the colon or from the distal small bowel, antibiotics that are effective against obligate anaerobic bacilli should be considered. The most common antibiotics that are employed under such circumstances include Ertapenem Ampicillin / Sulbactam, Metronidazole, Cefazolin or Cefuroxime, Ticaricillin / Clavulanate, and so on. However, the therapy with these medicines should not last for a very long time, as the bacteria can easily develop resistance against their active ingredients. You should report to your personal health care provider as soon as you consider that your therapy does not work as it used to. Your personal health care provider will see whether a therapy with a new, more powerful antibiotic is needed.
 
The therapy with antibiotics ought to be continued until the Intraabdominal Infection is resolved. This means that the patient will have to continue using antibiotics until his white blood cell count reaches normal values and until his or her gastrointestinal function has completely recovered. In the case of high-risk individuals who have been diagnosed with an intra-abdominal infection (including those who have developed their infectious medical condition during hospitalization), the first line therapy option is the intake of antimicrobials who have an extended spectrum. Among the most common medicines used in such cases are: Imipenem / Cilastatin, Meropenem, Piperacillin / Tazobactam, Ciprofloxacin, Cephalosporin, Metronidazole, and so on. Cefotixin and / or Cefotetan are not recommended in such cases.  Before the patient is allowed to start a therapy with any type of medicines, he or she ought to make sure that they are not suffering from hypersensitivity to the ingredients of that particular medical product. Undergoing allergy tests is recommended. For further information regarding the most effective remedies against abdominal infections of any kind, we strongly advise all patients to seek the professional advice of a well trained health care provider.