Implementation of a Pharmacist-Driven Vancomycin Area Under the Concentration-Time Curve Monitoring Program Using...

Current vancomycin monitoring guidelines recommend monitoring 24-hour area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) to minimum inhibitory concentration ratios for patients with serious methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections. However, there are sparse data on the safety, feasibility, and efficacy of vancomycin AUC monitoring for outpatients. Traditional AUC pharmacokinetic calculations require 2 concentrations, while bayesian software allows for single-concentration AUC estimations.

We conducted a single-center, quasi-experimental, interrupted time series study of patients enrolled in the outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy program at our institution for vancomycin management. Our institution implemented a pharmacist-driven vancomycin AUC monitoring program from September 2019 to February 2020, and again from September 2022 to March 2023. Patients enrolled underwent vancomycin monitoring using an AUC goal of 400-600 mg⋅h/L, estimated through bayesian modeling. Patients enrolled in the outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy program from July 2021 through August 2022 for trough-based monitoring were used for comparison. The primary outcome was nephrotoxicity incidence, defined as a serum creatinine increase by ≥0.5 mg/dL or ≥50% during outpatient vancomycin therapy.

We enrolled 63 patients in the AUC group and 60 patients in the trough-based group. Nephrotoxicity was significantly lower in the AUC cohort (6.3% vs 23.3%; P = .01). The number of unusable vancomycin concentrations was also significantly lower in the AUC cohort (0% vs 6%; P < .01). There was no difference in composite 90-day all-cause mortality or readmission (33.3% vs 38.3%; P = .56).

Following implementation of a pharmacist-driven AUC monitoring program, patients were less likely to develop nephrotoxicity during outpatient vancomycin therapy.