Vancomycin-induced nephrotoxicity in non-intensive care unit pediatric patients

Previous data suggested several risk factors for vancomycin-induced nephrotoxicity (VIN), including higher daily dose, long-term use, underlying renal disease, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and concomitant use of nephrotoxic medications. We conducted this study to investigate the prevalence and risk factors of VIN and to estimate the cut-off serum trough level for predicting acute kidney injury (AKI) in non-ICU pediatric patients. This was a retrospective, observational, single-center study at Samsung Medical Center tertiary hospital, located in Seoul, South Korea. We reviewed the medical records of non-ICU pediatric patients, under 19 years of age with no evidence of previous renal insufficiency, who received vancomycin for more than 48 h between January 2009 and December 2018. The clinical characteristics were compared between patients with AKI and those without to identify the risk factors associated with VIN, and the cut-off value of serum trough level to predict the occurrence of VIN was calculated by the Youden’s index. Among 476 cases, 22 patients (4.62%) developed AKI. The Youden’s index indicated that a maximum serum trough level of vancomycin above 24.35 μg/mL predicted VIN. In multivariate analysis, longer hospital stay, concomitant use of piperacillin-tazobactam and serum trough level of vancomycin above 24.35 μg/mL were associated independently with VIN. Our findings suggest that concomitant use of nephrotoxic medication and higher serum trough level of vancomycin might be associated with the risk of VIN. This study suggests that measuring serum trough level of vancomycin can help clinicians prevent VIN in pediatric patients.