Vancomycin (injection)
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1];
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Overview
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Adult Indications and Dosage
FDA-Labeled Indications and Dosage (Adult)
Indications
Vancomycin is indicated for the treatment of serious or severe infections caused by susceptible strains of methicillin-resistant (beta-lactam-resistant) staphylococci. It is indicated for penicillin-allergic patients, for patients who cannot receive or who have failed to respond to other drugs, including the penicillins or cephalosporins, and for infections caused by vancomycin-susceptible organisms that are resistant to other antimicrobial drugs. Vancomycin is indicated for initial therapy when methicillin-resistant staphylococci are suspected, but after susceptibility data are available, therapy should be adjusted accordingly.
Vancomycin is effective in the treatment of staphylococcal endocarditis. Its effectiveness has been documented in other infections due to staphylococci, including septicemia, bone infections, lower respiratory tract infections, skin and skin structure infections. When staphylococcal infections are localized and purulent, antibiotics are used as adjuncts to appropriate surgical measures.
Vancomycin has been reported to be effective alone or in combination with an aminoglycoside for endocarditis caused by Streptococcus viridans or S. bovis. For endocarditis caused by enterococci (e.g., E. faecalis), vancomycin has been reported to be effective only in combination with an aminoglycoside.
Vancomycin has been reported to be effective for the treatment of diphtheroid endocarditis. Vancomycin has been used successfully in combination with either rifampin, an aminoglycoside, or both in early-onset prosthetic valve endocarditis caused by S. epidermidis or diphtheroids.
Specimens for bacteriologic cultures should be obtained in order to isolate and identify causative organisms and to determine their susceptibilities to vancomycin.
To reduce the development of drug-resistant bacteria and maintain the effectiveness of vancomycin and other antibacterial drugs, vancomycin should be used only to treat or prevent infections that are proven or strongly suspected to be caused by susceptible bacteria. When culture and susceptibility information are available, they should be considered in selecting or modifying antibacterial therapy. In the absence of such data, local epidemiology and susceptibility patterns may contribute to the empiric selection of therapy.
Off-Label Use and Dosage (Adult)
Guideline-Supported Use
There is limited information regarding Off-Label Guideline-Supported Use of Vancomycin (injection) in adult patients.
Non–Guideline-Supported Use
There is limited information regarding Off-Label Non–Guideline-Supported Use of Vancomycin (injection) in adult patients.
Pediatric Indications and Dosage
FDA-Labeled Indications and Dosage (Pediatric)
There is limited information regarding Vancomycin (injection) FDA-Labeled Indications and Dosage (Pediatric) in the drug label.
Off-Label Use and Dosage (Pediatric)
Guideline-Supported Use
There is limited information regarding Off-Label Guideline-Supported Use of Vancomycin (injection) in pediatric patients.
Non–Guideline-Supported Use
There is limited information regarding Off-Label Non–Guideline-Supported Use of Vancomycin (injection) in pediatric patients.
Contraindications
Vancomycin is contraindicated in patients with known hypersensitivity to this antibiotic. Solutions containing dextrose may be contraindicated in patients with known allergy to corn or corn products.
Warnings
Rapid bolus administration (e.g., over several minutes) may be associated with exaggerated hypotension, including shock, and, rarely, cardiac arrest. Vancomycin should be administered over a period of not less than 60 minutes to avoid rapid-infusion-related reactions. Stopping the infusion usually results in prompt cessation of these reactions.
Ototoxicity has occurred in patients receiving vancomycin. It may be transient or permanent. It has been reported mostly in patients who have been given excessive doses, who have an underlying hearing loss, or who are receiving concomitant therapy with another ototoxic agent, such as an aminoglycoside. Vancomycin should be used with caution in patients with renal insufficiency because the risk of toxicity is appreciably increased by high, prolonged blood concentrations.
Dosage of vancomycin must be adjusted for patients with renal dysfunction (see PRECAUTIONS and DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION).
Clostridium difficile associated diarrhea (CDAD) has been reported with use of nearly all antibacterial agents, including Vancomycin Injection, USP, and may range in severity from mild diarrhea to fatal colitis. Treatment with antibacterial agents alters the normal flora of the colon leading to overgrowth of C. difficile.
C. difficile produces toxins A and B which contribute to the development of CDAD. Hypertoxin producing strains of C. difficile cause increased morbidity and mortality, as these infections can be refractory to antimicrobial therapy and may require colectomy. CDAD must be considered in all patients who present with diarrhea following antibiotic use. Careful medical history is necessary since CDAD has been reported to occur over two months after the administration of antibacterial agents.
If CDAD is suspected or confirmed, ongoing antibiotic use not directed against C. difficile may need to be discontinued. Appropriate fluid and electrolyte management, protein supplementation, antibiotic treatment of C. difficile, and surgical evaluation should be instituted as clinically indicated.
Precautions
General Prolonged use of vancomycin may result in the overgrowth of nonsusceptible microorganisms. Careful observation of the patient is essential. If superinfection occurs during therapy, appropriate measures should be taken. In rare instances, there have been reports of pseudomembranous colitis due to C. difficile developing in patients who received intravenous vancomycin.
In order to minimize the risk of nephrotoxicity when treating patients with underlying renal dysfunction or patients receiving concomitant therapy with an aminoglycoside, serial monitoring of renal function should be performed and particular care should be taken in following appropriate dosing schedules (see DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION).
Serial tests of auditory function may be helpful in order to minimize the risk of ototoxicity.
Reversible neutropenia has been reported in patients receiving vancomycin (see ADVERSE REACTIONS). Patients who will undergo prolonged therapy with vancomycin or those who are receiving concomitant drugs that may cause neutropenia should have periodic monitoring of the leukocyte count.
Vancomycin is irritating to tissue and must be given by a secure intravenous route of administration. Pain, tenderness, and necrosis occur with inadvertent extravasation. Thrombophlebitis may occur, the frequency and severity of which can be minimized by slow infusion of the drug and by rotation of venous access sites.
There have been reports that the frequency of infusion-related events (including hypotension, flushing, erythema, urticaria, and pruritus) increases with the concomitant administration of anesthetic agents. Infusion-related events may be minimized by the administration of vancomycin as a 60-minute infusion prior to anesthetic induction. The safety and efficacy of vancomycin administered by the intrathecal (intralumbar or intraventricular) route or by the intraperitoneal route have not been established by adequate and well-controlled trials.
Reports have revealed that administration of sterile vancomycin by the intraperitoneal route during continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) has resulted in a syndrome of chemical peritonitis. To date, this syndrome has ranged from a cloudy dialysate alone to a cloudy dialysate accompanied by variable degrees of abdominal pain and fever. This syndrome appears to be short-lived after discontinuation of intraperitoneal vancomycin.
Prescribing vancomycin in the absence of a proven or strongly suspected bacterial infection or a prophylactic indication is unlikely to provide benefit to the patient and increases the risk of the development of drug-resistant bacteria.
Adverse Reactions
Clinical Trials Experience
Infusion-Related Events During or soon after rapid infusion of vancomycin, patients may develop anaphylactoid reactions, including hypotension (see ANIMAL PHARMACOLOGY), wheezing, dyspnea, urticaria, or pruritus. Rapid infusion may also cause flushing of the upper body (“red neck”) or pain and muscle spasm of the chest and back. These reactions usually resolve within 20 minutes but may persist for several hours. Such events are infrequent if vancomycin is given by a slow infusion over 60 minutes. In studies of normal volunteers, infusion-related events did not occur when vancomycin was administered at a rate of 10 mg/min or less.
Nephrotoxicity Renal failure, principally manifested by increased serum creatinine or BUN concentrations, especially in patients administered large doses of vancomycin, has been reported rarely. Cases of interstitial nephritis have also been reported rarely. Most of these have occurred in patients who were given aminoglycosides concomitantly or who had preexisting kidney dysfunction. When vancomycin was discontinued, azotemia resolved in most patients.
Gastrointestinal Onset of pseudomembranous colitis symptoms may occur during or after antibiotic treatment (see WARNINGS).
Ototoxicity A few dozen cases of hearing loss associated with vancomycin have been reported. Most of these patients had kidney dysfunction or a preexisting hearing loss or were receiving concomitant treatment with an ototoxic drug. Vertigo, dizziness, and tinnitus have been reported rarely.
Hematopoietic Reversible neutropenia, usually starting 1 week or more after onset of therapy with vancomycin or after a total dosage of more than 25 g, has been reported for several dozen patients. Neutropenia appears to be promptly reversible when vancomycin is discontinued. Thrombocytopenia has rarely been reported. Although a causal relationship has not been established, reversible agranulocytosis (granulocytes <500/mm3) has been reported rarely.
Phlebitis Inflammation at the injection site has been reported.
Miscellaneous Infrequently, patients have been reported to have had anaphylaxis, drug fever, nausea, chills, eosinophilia, rashes including exfoliative dermatitis, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, and vasculitis in association with administration of vancomycin.
Chemical peritonitis has been reported following intraperitoneal administration of vancomycin (see PRECAUTIONS).
Post Marketing Reports The following adverse reactions have been identified during post-approval use of vancomycin. Because these reactions are reported voluntarily from a population of uncertain size, it is not possible to reliably estimate their frequency or establish a causal relationship to drug exposure.
Skin and Subcutaneous Tissue Disorders
Drug Rash with Eosinophilia and Systemic Symptoms (DRESS)
Postmarketing Experience
There is limited information regarding Vancomycin (injection) Postmarketing Experience in the drug label.
Drug Interactions
Concomitant administration of vancomycin and anesthetic agents has been associated with erythema and histamine-like flushing (see USAGE IN PEDIATRICS UNDER PRECAUTIONS) and anaphylactoid reactions (see ADVERSE REACTIONS).
Concurrent and/or sequential systemic or topical use of other potentially neurotoxic and/or nephrotoxic drugs, such as amphotericin B, aminoglycosides, bacitracin, polymyxin B, colistin, viomycin, or cisplatin, when indicated, requires careful monitoring.
Use in Specific Populations
Pregnancy
Pregnancy Category (FDA): C
Animal reproduction studies have not been conducted with vancomycin. It is not known whether vancomycin can affect reproduction capacity. In a controlled clinical study, the potential ototoxic and nephrotoxic effects of vancomycin on infants were evaluated when the drug was administered to pregnant women for serious staphylococcal infections complicating intravenous drug abuse. Vancomycin was found in cord blood. No sensorineural hearing loss or nephrotoxicity attributable to vancomycin was noted. One infant whose mother received vancomycin in the third trimester experienced conductive hearing loss that was not attributed to the administration of vancomycin. Because the number of patients treated in this study was limited and vancomycin was administered only in the second and third trimesters, it is not known whether vancomycin causes fetal harm. Vancomycin should be given to a pregnant woman only if clearly needed.
Pregnancy Category (AUS):
There is no Australian Drug Evaluation Committee (ADEC) guidance on usage of Vancomycin (injection) in women who are pregnant.
Labor and Delivery
There is no FDA guidance on use of Vancomycin (injection) during labor and delivery.
Nursing Mothers
Vancomycin is excreted in human milk. Caution should be exercised when vancomycin is administered to a nursing woman. Because of the potential for adverse events, a decision should be made whether to discontinue nursing or to discontinue the drug, taking into account the importance of the drug to the mother.
Pediatric Use
In pediatric patients, it may be appropriate to confirm desired vancomycin serum concentrations. Concomitant administration of vancomycin and anesthetic agents has been associated with erythema and histamine-like flushing in pediatric patients (see PRECAUTIONS). The potential for toxic effects in pediatric patients from chemicals that may leach from the plastic containers into the single-dose, premixed intravenous preparation has not been determined.
Geriatic Use
The natural decrement of glomerular filtration with increasing age may lead to elevated vancomycin serum concentrations if dosage is not adjusted. Vancomycin dosage schedules should be adjusted in elderly patients (see DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION).
Gender
There is no FDA guidance on the use of Vancomycin (injection) with respect to specific gender populations.
Race
There is no FDA guidance on the use of Vancomycin (injection) with respect to specific racial populations.
Renal Impairment
There is no FDA guidance on the use of Vancomycin (injection) in patients with renal impairment.
Hepatic Impairment
There is no FDA guidance on the use of Vancomycin (injection) in patients with hepatic impairment.
Females of Reproductive Potential and Males
There is no FDA guidance on the use of Vancomycin (injection) in women of reproductive potentials and males.
Immunocompromised Patients
There is no FDA guidance one the use of Vancomycin (injection) in patients who are immunocompromised.
Administration and Monitoring
Administration
There is limited information regarding Vancomycin (injection) Administration in the drug label.
Monitoring
There is limited information regarding Vancomycin (injection) Monitoring in the drug label.
IV Compatibility
There is limited information regarding the compatibility of Vancomycin (injection) and IV administrations.
Overdosage
Supportive care is advised, with maintenance of glomerular filtration. Vancomycin is poorly removed by dialysis.
Hemofiltration and hemoperfusion with polysulfone resin have been reported to result in increased vancomycin clearance. The median lethal intravenous dose is 319 mg/kg in rats and 400 mg/kg in mice.
To obtain up-to-date information about the treatment of overdose, a good resource is your certified Regional Poison Control Center. Telephone numbers of certified poison control centers are listed in the Physicians’ Desk Reference (PDR). In managing overdosage, consider the possibility of multiple drug overdoses, interaction among drugs, and unusual drug kinetics in your patient.
Pharmacology
There is limited information regarding Vancomycin (injection) Pharmacology in the drug label.
Mechanism of Action
There is limited information regarding Vancomycin (injection) Mechanism of Action in the drug label.
Structure
There is limited information regarding Vancomycin (injection) Structure in the drug label.
Pharmacodynamics
There is limited information regarding Vancomycin (injection) Pharmacodynamics in the drug label.
Pharmacokinetics
There is limited information regarding Vancomycin (injection) Pharmacokinetics in the drug label.
Nonclinical Toxicology
There is limited information regarding Vancomycin (injection) Nonclinical Toxicology in the drug label.
Clinical Studies
There is limited information regarding Vancomycin (injection) Clinical Studies in the drug label.
How Supplied
There is limited information regarding Vancomycin (injection) How Supplied in the drug label.
Storage
There is limited information regarding Vancomycin (injection) Storage in the drug label.
Images
Drug Images
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Package and Label Display Panel
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Patient Counseling Information
There is limited information regarding Vancomycin (injection) Patient Counseling Information in the drug label.
Precautions with Alcohol
Alcohol-Vancomycin (injection) interaction has not been established. Talk to your doctor about the effects of taking alcohol with this medication.
Brand Names
There is limited information regarding Vancomycin (injection) Brand Names in the drug label.
Look-Alike Drug Names
There is limited information regarding Vancomycin (injection) Look-Alike Drug Names in the drug label.
Drug Shortage Status
Price
References
The contents of this FDA label are provided by the National Library of Medicine.