Continuous-infusion vancomycin therapy for preterm neonates with suspected or documented Gram- positive infections: a new dosage schedule

Background: Intermittent infusion of vancomycin is widely used to treat late-onset sepsis in neonates. On the other hand, the continuous infusion of vancomycin could improve bactericidal efficacy since its action is time dependent. Objective: To evaluate a simplified dosage schedule for continuous-infusion vancomycin therapy. Methods: Prospective study in premature neonates ( Results: Between June 2002 and December 2005, 145 neonates were evaluated. At birth, the median (interquartile range) body weight was 920 (500–1160) g and gestational age was 28 (26–29) weeks. At T1, serum vancomycin was within the required range in 74.5% of neonates (108/145). Serum vancomycin levels were higher in period 2 than in period 1 (20 mg/l vs 13 mg/l, p Conclusion: Using this simplified dosage schedule, bactericidal efficacy was maintained and most subjects had serum vancomycin concentrations within the therapeutic range.