title: T.E.A. Study: three-day ertapenem versus three-day Ampicillin-Sulbactam.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Intra-abdominal infections are one of the most common infections encountered by a general surgeon. However, despite this prevalence, standardized guidelines outlining the proper use of antibiotic therapy are poorly defined due to a lack of clinical trials investigating the ideal duration of antibiotic treatment. The aim of this study is to compare the efficacy and safety of a three-day treatment regimen of Ampicillin-Sulbactam to that of a three-day regimen of Ertapenem in patients with localized peritonitis ranging from mild to moderate severity.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study is a prospective, multi-center, randomized investigation performed in the Department of General, Emergency, and Transplant Surgery of St. Orsola-Malpighi University Hospital in Bologna, Italy. Discrete data were analyzed using the Chi-squared and Fisher exact tests. Differences between the two study groups were considered statistically significant for p-values less than 0.05.
  
  
  RESULTS
  71 patients were treated with Ertapenem and 71 patients were treated with Ampicillin-Sulbactam. The two groups were comparable in terms of age and gender as well as the site of abdominal infection. Post-operative infection was identified in 12 patients: 10 with wound infections and 2 with intra-abdominal infections. In the Ertapenem group, 69 of the 71 patients (97%) were treated successfully, while the therapy failed in 2 cases (3%). Therapy failures were more frequent in the Unasyn group, amounting to 10 of 71 cases (p = 0.03).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  According to these preliminary findings, the authors conclude that a three-day Ertapenem treatment regimen is the most effective antibiotic therapy for patients with localized intra-abdominal infections ranging from mild to moderate severity.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT00630513.
authors: Emergency Surgery Department, Parma University Hospital, Parma, Italy. lavoriscientif@hotmail.it
authors: Fausto
authors: F
authors: Catena
authors: Carlo
authors: C
authors: Vallicelli
authors: Luca
authors: L
authors: Ansaloni
authors: Massimo
authors: M
authors: Sartelli
authors: Salomone
authors: S
authors: Di Saverio
authors: Riccardo
authors: R
authors: Schiavina
authors: Eddi
authors: E
authors: Pasqualini
authors: Annalisa
authors: A
authors: Amaduzzi
authors: Federico
authors: F
authors: Coccolini
authors: Michele
authors: M
authors: Cucchi
authors: Daniel
authors: D
authors: Lazzareschi
authors: Gian Luca
authors: GL
authors: Baiocchi
authors: Antonio D
authors: AD
authors: Pinna
mesh_terms: D000667:Ampicillin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D000077727:Ertapenem; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010538:Peritonitis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D013407:Sulbactam / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects; D013530:Surgical Wound Infection / Q000188:drug therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D047090:beta-Lactams / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D047090:beta-Lactams; C035444:sultamicillin; D000667:Ampicillin; D000077727:Ertapenem; D013407:Sulbactam
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