Assessing the effectiveness of empiric antimicrobial regimens in cases of septic/infected abortions

Abstract

IntroductionInfected abortion is a life-threatening condition that requires immediate surgical and medical interventions. We aimed to assess the common pathogens associated with infected abortion and to test the microbial coverage of various empiric antimicrobial regimens based on the bacteriological susceptibility results in women with infected abortions. MethodsA retrospective study in a single university-affiliated tertiary hospital. Electronic records were searched for clinical course, microbial characteristics, and antibiotic susceptibility of all patients diagnosed with an infected abortion. The effectiveness of five antibiotic regimens was analyzed according to bacteriological susceptibility results. ResultsOverall, 84 patients were included in the study. The mean age of patients was 32.3(SD ± 5.8) years, and the median gestational age was 15 (IQR 8–19) weeks. Risk factors for infection were identified in 23 patients (27.3%), and included lack of medical insurance (n = 12), recent amniocentesis/chorionic villus sampling or fetal reduction due to multifetal pregnancies (n = 10). The most common pathogens isolated were Enterobacteriaceae (35%), Streptococci (31%), Staphylococci (9%) and Enterococci (9%). The combination of intravenous ampicillin, gentamicin and metronidazole showed significant superiority over all the other tested regimens according to the susceptibility test results. Piperacillin-tazobactam as an empiric single-agent drug of choice and provided a superior microbial coverage, with a coverage rate of 93.3%. ConclusionsA combination of ampicillin, gentamicin, and metronidazole had a better spectrum of coverage as a first-line empiric choice for patients with infected abortion.