Objectives: The authors wanted to determine if the current local practice (initial prescription and monitoring) in pediatrics allowed reaching vancomycin therapeutic concentrations.
Patients and methods: Thirty patients that had received vancomycin for at least five days with at least one evaluation of serum concentration, at the Sainte-Justine university hospital center, were retrospectively studied. Vancomycin trough and peak levels were analyzed.
Results: The values of vancomycin serum concentration were within therapeutic ranges (local standards of 5 to 10mg/L for trough level and 20 to 40 mg/L for peak level) in 60% and 33% of cases at the fifth day of treatment for trough and peak levels, respectively.
Conclusion: The current practice does not allow reaching vancomycin serum concentrations in the target range. Using a wider range for the trough values could be considered.
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