A descriptive study of vancomycin use at Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital, Cape Town

BACKGROUND: Antimicrobial stewardship principles guide the clinical use of antimicrobials, including vancomycin, but paediatric vancomycin prescribing practices have not been evaluated in South Africa. OBJECTIVES: To document the use, prescribing practices and monitoring of intravenous vancomycin and the spectrum of bacteria isolated on microbiological culture in children treated with intravenous vancomycin during a 12-month period at Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital (RCWMCH). METHOD: A retrospective audit of intravenous vancomycin use in children admitted to RCWMCH during 2019 was performed. RESULTS: All 158 vancomycin prescription episodes for 143 children were included. Overall usage of intravenous vancomycin was 63 days of therapy per 1000 patient days (interquartile range [IQR]: 38–72). The median starting dose was 15 mg/kg per dose (IQR: 14–15) and median daily dose was 45 mg/kg per day (IQR: 43–60). Vancomycin was prescribed as empiric (127/158, 80%) and directed (31/158, 20%) treatment. The median duration of treatment for the directed group (7 days) was longer than the empiric group (4 days) (p = 0.001). Vancomycin serum trough concentrations were performed in 65/98 (66%) episodes where vancomycin treatment exceeded 3 days, with only 16/65 (25%) of these samples obtained before the fourth dose. Prolonged antibiotic treatment of 14 days or more was not associated with Gram-positive bacteria on culture (odds ratio [OR]: 1.02, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.17–4.2). CONCLUSION: Dosing errors, prolonged empiric treatment and inappropriate vancomycin monitoring were problems associated with vancomycin prescriptions. CONTRIBUTION: The study identified multiple opportunities for improved vancomycin prescribing and monitoring. Further research and implementation of improved prescribing practices could contribute to the preservation of vancomycin as an effective antibiotic.