Vancomycin in adult prescribing: is it time to move on from trough-based dosing in the UK?

Vancomycin remains a useful agent in the infection doctor’s toolkit, particularly for Staphylococcus aureus and MRSA infections. Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) is essential to maintain efficacy and avoid toxicity. Until recently, trough-based dosing has been the recommended method but in recent years the reliability of this has been questioned. The 2020 Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) vancomycin guideline update has sent a clear message that trough-based dosing is not to be relied on, instead recommending dosing via 24 h AUC/MIC. The UK, however, has yet to follow suit in this, despite the wealth of evidence showing that trough-based dosing puts patients at higher risk of nephrotoxicity. Clearly, it is time to incorporate AUC/MIC-based dosing to utilize this effective antibiotic safely.