Vancomycin (VAN) dosing requires adjustment to renal function, which is often estimated using the Cockcroft-Gault formula; however, its precision is poor in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) patients. VAN clearance (CL(Van)) during continuous infusion was prospectively determined in 25 ICU patients [14 male, 11 female; age range 31-82 years; body mass index (BMI) 16.5-41.5 kg/m²; Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II score at admission 8-36; creatinine clearance 25-195 mL/min] and its correlation with measured creatinine clearance (CL(Crea)), estimated creatinine clearance using the Cockcroft-Gault formula (CL(CG)) and estimated glomerular filtration rate according to Hoek's formula based on serum cystatin C (GFR(Hoek)) was investigated. The correlation between CL(Van) and CL(Crea) was very good (r²=0.88), but it was rather poor with CL(CG) (r² = 0.37) and was acceptable with GFR(Hoek) (r² = 0.70). For VAN dose adjustments in ICU patients, determination of cystatin C may be an interesting and practical alternative to measured CL(Crea), whereas the Cockcroft-Gault formula should be used with caution.
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