Safety and Outcome of Pharmacy-Led Vancomycin Dosing and Monitoring

Background: Therapeutic vancomycin trough levels correlate with therapeutic success and the development of renal failure. In this study, we aimed to describe the safety and outcome of pharmacy-led vancomycin dosing and monitoring.

Methods: We included adults requiring vancomycin for >48 h and who had a vancomycin trough level drawn near steady state. The primary outcome of the comparison was the achievement of therapeutic trough levels, defined as 10-20 µg/ml. Secondary outcome included acute renal failure. We compared these outcomes before and after the implementation of pharmacy-led vancomycin dosing and monitoring.

Result: During the study period, a total of 278 patients were in the preimplementation phase and 286 were in the postintervention phase. There was a clear increase in the percentage of patients achieving the therapeutic range (50.5 vs. 79.7%, p = 0.0001) and an increase in the percentage of levels within the therapeutic range (31.6 vs. 59.1%; p = 0.0001). The number of cases receiving vancomycin increased by 5% and the duration of therapy decreased by 19.5%. More patients attained a therapeutic range of 10-20 µg/ml (i.e. the level was 31.6% in the preintervention and 59.1% in the postintervention phase).

Conclusions: A higher percentage of patients achieved a therapeutic range and less nephrotoxicity when using a pharmacy-led protocol for vancomycin dosing.