Consensus statement on antimicrobial therapy of intra-abdominal infections in Asia

The selection of antimicrobial agents in the 2006 Guidelines (consensus statement) on Empiric Therapy for Complicated Intra-Abdominal Infections (IAIs) in Asia was based on resistance and epidemiological data from the Asian region. In these 2006 guidelines, single agent therapy using the beta-lactam/beta-lactamase inhibitors ampicillin/sulbactam or cefoperazone-sulbactam is recommended for mild-to-moderate cases, while piperacillin-tazobactam is recommended for high-severity cases. When using carbapenems, ertapenem is recommended for mild-to-moderate cases, while imipenem and meropenem are recommended for high-severity cases. For combination regimes, two types of agents are recommended: cephalosporin-based and monobactam-based. For mild-to-moderate cases, a third generation cephalosporin plus metronidazole is recommended. For high-severity cases, a third or fourth generation cephalosporin plus metronidazole+/-amikacin is recommended. For the monobactam-based regimen, aztreonam plus metronidazole is recommended for high-severity cases only.