title: The pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of vancomycin.
abstract: Vancomycin is one of only a few antibiotics available to treat patients infected with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant, coagulase-negative Staphylococcus species. Therefore, understanding the clinical implications of the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of vancomycin is a necessity for clinicians. Vancomycin is a concentration-independent antibiotic (also referred to as a "time-dependent" antibiotic), and there are factors that affect its clinical activity, including variable tissue distribution, inoculum size, and emerging resistance. This article reviews the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic data related to vancomycin and discusses such clinical issues as toxicities and serum concentration monitoring.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48201, USA. m.rybak@wayne.edu
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Rybak
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000097:blood / Q000493:pharmacokinetics* / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000633:toxicity; D006801:Humans; D016106:Methicillin Resistance; D011485:Protein Binding / Q000502:physiology; D013210:Staphylococcus / Q000187:drug effects; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects; D014018:Tissue Distribution; D014640:Vancomycin / Q000097:blood / Q000493:pharmacokinetics* / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000633:toxicity
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D014640:Vancomycin