Comparative safety of teicoplanin and vancomycin

Although modern preparations of vancomycin are associated with a lower incidence of adverse events than the early preparations, a number of clinically significant problems remain. Consequently monitoring of serum concentrations is required. In a meta-analysis of comparative trials adverse events were significantly less likely to occur with teicoplanin (13.9%) than with vancomycin (21.9%) (P = 0.0003). This was particularly significant when nephrotoxicity was considered: 4.8% vs. 10.7%, for teicoplanin and vancomycin, respectively (P = 0.0005). Red man syndrome, which may be due to histamine release, occurs after rapid infusion of vancomycin but is very rare following teicoplanin administration. In USA trials, thrombocytopenia was more commonly seen with teicoplanin administration but this was almost exclusively in patients receiving much larger doses than are now recommended. The lower rate of adverse events supports the choice of teicoplanin over vancomycin in treating infections where the two antibiotics have similar efficacy.