The safety and efficacy of high versus low vancomycin trough levels in the treatment of patients with infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus: a meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Recent guidelines have recommended vancomycin trough levels of 15–20 mg/L for treatment of serious infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). However, high trough levels may increase risk of nephrotoxicity and mortality, and high vancomycin trough levels have not been well studied. This study was designed to combine safety and efficacy results from independent studies and to compare between high and low vancomycin trough levels in the treatment of MRSA-infected patients using meta-analysis. METHODS: From 19 eligible studies, 9 studies were included in meta-analysis to compare clinical success between high and low vancomycin trough levels, while 10 and 11 studies met criteria for comparing trough levels and nephrotoxicity and trough levels and mortality, respectively. The PubMed/Medline, Web of Science, and Scopus databases, and hand searching were used to identify eligible studies dated up to March 2016. Of 2344 subjects with MRSA infection, 1036 were assigned to trough levels ≥15 mg/L and 1308 to trough levels <15 mg/L. RESULTS: High vancomycin trough levels were found to be associated with risk of nephrotoxicity (odds ratio [OR] 2.14, 95 % confidence interval [CI] 1.42–3.23 and adjusted OR 3.33, 95 % CI 1.91–5.79). There was no evidence of difference between high and low vancomycin trough levels for mortality (OR; 1.09; 95 % CI 0.75–1.60) or clinical success (OR 1.07; 95 % CI 0.68–1.68). CONCLUSION: In this study, high vancomycin trough levels were identified as an independent factor associated with risk of nephrotoxicity in MRSA-infected patients. Association between vancomycin trough levels and both adverse effects and clinical outcomes requires further study. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13104-016-2252-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.