[Clinical value of individualized pharmaceutical services for patients receiving vancomycin for severe infections: a...

To assess the clinical value of individualized pharmaceutical services for patients receiving vancomycin for severe infections and establish clinical monitoring procedures during vancomycin treatment.

Data were collected from patients with severe infections who received vancomycin treatment with individualized pharmacy services (test group, 144 cases) or without such services (control group, 884 cases) between January, 2017 and December, 2018. Using propensity score matching, the patients in the two groups with comparable baseline data were selected for inclusion in the study (62 in each group), and the efficacy, safety and economic indicators were compared between the two groups.

The curative effects of the treatment did not differ significantly between the two groups, with the overall response rates of 95.16% in the test group and 91.94% in the control group (P > 0.05). The percentage of neutrophils before vancomycin treatment and calcitonin level after the treatment differed significantly between the two groups (P < 0.05). No significant difference was found in the incidence of adverse events associated with the treatment between the test and control groups (8.06% vs 9.68%, P > 0.05); a significant difference in creatinine level was noted between the two groups after vancomycin treatment (P < 0.05). The number of days of medication, the cost of vancomycin and its proportion in the total expenses differed significantly between the two groups (P < 0.05). Cost-effectiveness analysis showed a better cost-effectiveness in the test group than in the control group (50052.78 vs 57601.23). The intensity of vancomycin use was also lower in the test group than in the control group (0.11 vs 0.36).

The participation of clinical pharmacists during the treatment can improve the clinical benefits of vancomycin in patients with severe infections.