The Role of Vancomycin in the Treatment Paradigm

• Published in: Clinical infectious diseases Vol. 42; no. Supplement-1; pp. S51 - S57
• Main Author: Stevens, Dennis L
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States The University of Chicago Press 01.01.2006; University of Chicago Press; Oxford University Press
• Subjects: Anti-Bacterial Agents - blood; Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology; Anti-Bacterial Agents - therapeutic use; Antibacterials; Antibiotics; Bacteremia; Bacteremia - complications; Bacteremia - drug therapy; Bacteremia - microbiology; Bacteriology; Clinical outcomes; Dosage; Drug Therapy, Combination; Effectiveness; Endocarditis; Endocarditis, Bacterial - complications; Endocarditis, Bacterial - drug therapy; Endocarditis, Bacterial - microbiology; Gram-positive bacteria; Humans; Infections; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Patients; Pneumonia, Staphylococcal - drug therapy; Soft Tissue Infections - drug therapy; Soft Tissue Infections - microbiology; Staphylococcal Infections - complications; Staphylococcal Infections - drug therapy; Staphylococcal pneumonia; Staphylococcal Skin Infections - drug therapy; Staphylococcal Skin Infections - microbiology; Staphylococcus; Staphylococcus aureus; Staphylococcus aureus - drug effects; Treatment Failure; Vancomycin - blood; Vancomycin - pharmacology; Vancomycin - therapeutic use; Ventilator associated pneumonia

Vancomycin was introduced in the United States in 1956 as a possible treatment for infections due to penicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, but it was not used widely because of toxicity and the nearly simultaneous development of semisynthetic antibiotics and cephalosporins. Thus, its main indi...