ACUTE BACTERIAL PERITONITIS - PERMEABILITY OF CEPHALOSPORINS IN THE PERITONEAL-CAVITY

Acute bacterial peritonitis is a common surgical disease treated with fluid resuscitation, surgery and antibiotics. The choice and use of an tibiotics is an important supplement of therapy. Cephalosporins are am ong the most frequently used drugs for this condition. Although there is evidence that these agents reach the peritoneal cavity under normal conditions, no data are available regarding their delivery and concen tration during acute secondary bacterial peritonitis. In order to dete rmine the effectiveness of these agents in such cases, we studied the diffusion of three generations of cephalosporins - cefazolin, cefonici d and cefotaxime - into the peritoneal cavity during controlled bacter ial peritonitis in rats. Our results show that all three drugs reached therapeutic concentrations in the peritoneal fluid; the highest conce ntration was obtained by the third-generation cefotaxime.