Safety and Outcome of Pharmacy-Led Vancomycin Dosing and Monitoring

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.

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.

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).

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