Association between vancomycin therapeutic drug monitoring and clinical outcomes in treating neonatal sepsis.

BACKGROUND

Neonatal sepsis is commonly treated with vancomycin in the neonatal intensive care unit. Therapeutic drug monitoring of vancomycin is routinely used to personalise dosing to optimise effectiveness and avoid toxicity.

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to define a target range by evaluating associations between vancomycin trough concentrations or area under the concentration time curve over 24 hours (AUC) and clinical outcomes in neonates.

METHODS

Neonates, who were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit and received intravenous vancomycin, were included in this retrospective cohort study. For evaluating effectiveness, patients who received vancomycin for < 5 days were excluded. The AUC was estimated based on a study-derived population pharmacokinetic model. Primary outcomes were persistent/recurrent infections and mortality within 30 days. Secondary outcomes, including acute kidney injury (AKI), were also assessed. Logistic regression and classification and regression tree analyses were performed.

RESULTS

A total of 448 patients (123 patients for effectiveness analysis) were included. A vancomycin trough > 10 mg/L was associated with 70% lower odds of persistent/recurrent infections (adjusted OR 0.30, 95% CI 0.09-0.86; P = 0.023). Patients who took more than a day to reach target range had 1.4 times higher odds of persistent/recurrent infections or death (P = 0.04). A vancomycin trough > 15 mg/L was associated with a three times higher risk of AKI (P = 0.003). An AUC of 420-650 mg*h/L was also associated with the lowest risk of composite outcomes (adjusted OR 0.29, 95% CI 0.08-0.86; P = 0.025).

CONCLUSION

A vancomycin trough target range of 10-15 mg/L and achievement of this target within a day of treatment initiation were associated with the most optimal clinical outcomes in treating neonatal sepsis.