Abstract
Effects of imipenem/cilastatin (IPM/CS) therapy, flomoxef (FMOX) therapy and combined ceftazidime+aspoxicillin (CAZ/ASPC) therapy as initial therapies for chorioamnionitis were assessed clinically.
1. The subjects were 49 women with threatened abortion and 29 with premature rupture of membranes (PROM), complicated in all cases by chorioamnionitis. The inflammation was treated with IPM/CS in 19 patients, FMOX in 39, CAZ in 11, and CAZ/ASPC in 9.
2. The response rate to therapy for chorioamnionitis was 95.9% (47/49) in the threatened abortion group. Of the 49 patients in this group, 16 (32.7%) underwent premature labor. Of the therapies administered, IPM/CS tended to prevent premature labor more frequently than did any other therapy. The latent period (from rupture of membranes to delivery) was equal to or longer than 7 days in the PROM group. The percent prolongation of the latent period in these patients (55.5%) was significantly greater than that previously obtained with penicillin therapy.
3. The bacterial elimination rate was 50.9% (29/57). Of the 36 bacterial isolates, 66.7% were Gram-positive bacteria. The bacteriological efficacy rate was 89.7% (26/29).
These results suggest that antibacterial agents effective against Gram-positive bacteria should be selected for treatment of chorioamnionitis, and that IPM/CS therapy is particularly useful considering the drug's good transfer into amniotic fluid and its antibacterial spectrum.
