Monitoring of vancomycin in pediatrics

• Published in: Médecine et maladies infectieuses 2012-04, Vol.42 (4), p.167-170
• Main Authors: Delicourt, A, Touzin, K, Lavoie, A, Therrien, R, Lebel, D
• Format: Article
• Language: fre
• Subjects: Adolescent; Anti-Bacterial Agents - administration & dosage; Anti-Bacterial Agents - blood; Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacokinetics; Anti-Bacterial Agents - therapeutic use; Child; Child, Preschool; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Drug Monitoring; Drug Prescriptions; Female; Hospitals, University - statistics & numerical data; Humans; Male; Practice Guidelines as Topic; Quebec - epidemiology; Retrospective Studies; Vancomycin - administration & dosage; Vancomycin - blood; Vancomycin - pharmacokinetics; Vancomycin - therapeutic use
• ISSN: 1769-6690
• DOI: 10.1016/j.medmal.2012.02.001

The authors wanted to determine if the current local practice (initial prescription and monitoring) in pediatrics allowed reaching vancomycin therapeutic concentrations. Thirty patients that had received vancomycin for at least five days with at least one evaluation of serum concentration, at the Sainte-Justine university hospital center, were retrospectively studied. Vancomycin trough and peak levels were analyzed. The values of vancomycin serum concentration were within therapeutic ranges (local standards of 5 to 10mg/L for trough level and 20 to 40 mg/L for peak level) in 60% and 33% of cases at the fifth day of treatment for trough and peak levels, respectively. The current practice does not allow reaching vancomycin serum concentrations in the target range. Using a wider range for the trough values could be considered.