Model-informed precision dosing of vancomycin in clinical practice: an intervention development study

Current guidelines recommend dosing vancomycin based on the area under the concentration time curve (AUC) to maximise efficacy and minimise the risk of nephrotoxicity. The preferred approach to AUC-guided therapy is to apply model-informed precision dosing (MIPD). However, the adoption in clinical practice has been slow.

We aimed to develop an intervention, including a standardised MIPD workflow and an implementation plan for vancomycin AUC-guided dosing, in a Swedish tertiary hospital.

The intervention was developed in a framework-guided process. The design phase included stakeholder feedback (nurses, pharmacists, physicians), local data collection and feasibility testing of intervention components with parallel consideration of implementation aspects. The hypothesised relationships between the different components, implementation strategies and the mechanism of action resulting in expected outcomes were represented by a logic model.

The final intervention consisted of a workflow for MIPD, with defined roles and responsibilities, as well as processes for data and information transfer. Details were provided in supportive documents; an instruction on therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) sampling and documentation for nurses, and a detailed dosing software instruction for MIPD consultants and clinical pharmacists. Activities to facilitate implementation included the development of a local clinical routine for vancomycin dosing, staff training and recurring MIPD rounds.

An intervention for MIPD, with an implementation plan for AUC-guided dosing of vancomycin, was developed for a tertiary hospital setting. The process can be used as guidance for other institutions with similar context wishing to initiate MIPD.