Vancomycin

Who gets it or what disease process? C. diff and endocarditis prophylaxis. Patients with renal impairment should use caution.

What class, pharmacokinetics, how does it work? Anti-infective. Binds to bacterial cell wall, resulting in cell death. Active against gram-positive pathogens.

When (frequency)? Until signs and symptoms of infection is resolved. Depends on organism and site of infection.

Where (chronic home and acute care or both)? Acute care, in hospitals. Most commonly seen in patients with C. diff.

Why (reason – action)? Treatment of infection and endocarditis prophylaxis.

How (dose, route, safety): IV, PO and IT. Dosage depends on the type of bacterium and seriousness of infection. Safety: trough concentration should not exceed 10 mcg/mL for mild-moderate and 15-20 mcg/mL for severe infections.

Treatment of potentially life threatening infections commonly seen in patients with Clostridium difficile. Also useful in staphylococcal infections such as endocarditis, meningitis, osteomyelitis, pneumonia, septicemia, soft-tissue infections in patients who have allergies to penicillin or its derivatives or when sensitivity testing demonstrates resistance to methicillin