Open AccessVancomycin use in a large teaching hospital in Shiraz, Islamic Republic of Iran, 2003
Author(s) -
Mehrdad Askarian,
Ojan Assadian,
Gh R. Safaee,
A. Golkar,
Soha Namazi,
Mohammad-Reza Movahed
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
eastern mediterranean health journal/eastern mediterranean health journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.442
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1687-1634
pISSN - 1020-3397
DOI - 10.26719/2007.13.5.1195
Subject(s) - vancomycin , medicine , medical prescription , islamic republic , intensive care medicine , staphylococcus aureus , islam , pharmacology , theology , biology , bacteria , genetics , philosophy
We investigated adherence to the Hospital Infection Control Practice Advisory Committee (HICPAC) guidelines on vancomycin prescription in a large university-affiliated hospital in Shiraz. From August to December 2003, 200 hospitalized patients received vancomycin. For only 12 (6%) of these patients was vancomycin prescribed appropriately according to HICPAC guidelines. The main reasons why vancomycin use did not comply with HICPAC recommendations were: surgical prophylaxis in patients with negative cultures for resistant Gram-positive organisms, no investigation of vancomycin serum levels in patients receiving > 48 hours of vancomycin, vancomycin serum levels not repeated in patients receiving > 1 week of vancomycin, no appropriate adjustment of dosage with respect to serum levels in patients receiving vancomycin.