Bowel colonization with vancomycin-resistant enterococci after antimicrobial therapy for intra-abdominal infections: observations from 2 randomized comparative clinical trials of ertapenem therapy.

Author(s): DiNubile MJ, Friedland IR, Chan CY, Motyl MR, Giezek H, McCarroll K, Shivaprakash M, Quinn JP, Weinstein RA, Chow JW

Affiliation(s): Merck & Co., Inc., Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA. mark_dinubile@merck.com

Publication date & source: 2007-08, Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis., 58(4):491-4. Epub 2007 May 16.

The impact of different antimicrobial regimens for intra-abdominal infections on the frequency of bowel colonization with vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) was examined in 2 randomized open-label trials of intra-abdominal infection comparing piperacillin-tazobactam or ceftriaxone/metronidazole with ertapenem. In these short-term studies, overall rates of bowel colonization with VRE were generally comparable after treatment with piperacillin-tazobactam, ceftriaxone/metronidazole, or ertapenem.