Intraperitoneally Administered Vancomycin Results in Suboptimal Serum and Peritoneal Effluent Drug Levels in Patients...

Intraperitoneal vancomycin is commonly used to treat peritoneal dialysis (PD)-related peritonitis. Therapeutic drug level monitoring helps optimize the use of vancomycin in CKD patients. We studied whether sufficient serum levels were achieved in patients with PD-related peritonitis treated with the commonly used dose of vancomycin in patients with end stage renal disease.

All consecutive patients with PD-related peritonitis during 19 months were studied. Patients received IP Vancomycin 15 mg/kg Q96H and amikacin 2 mg/kg while awaiting culture reports. Vancomycin concentration in serum and dialysate was determined by a validated liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry assay at 1, 12, 24, and 96 h. The primary outcome was the drug levels in serum and peritoneal fluid, and the secondary outcome was peritonitis treatment failure.

A total of 45 episodes of PD-related peritonitis were treated, of which 41 fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were included in the PK analysis. Recommended serum vancomycin trough level of >15 mg/L was achieved in only two cases. Twenty-one episodes required catheter removal.

In patients with PD-related peritonitis, intermittent intraperitoneal administration of 15 mg/kg of vancomycin every 96 h does not achieve the recommended serum and dialysate levels of vancomycin. There is an urgent need for pharmacokinetic studies on commonly used IP antibiotics in the PD population to facilitate correct dose recommendations.