Abstract

BackgroundThe new ASHP/IDSA consensus guidelines recommend area under the curve (AUC) monitoring to optimize vancomycin therapy. Little is known about the ability to implement this recommendation in a real-world setting. At UMass Memorial Medical Center (UMMMC), an AUC pharmacy to dose protocol was created to manage infectious diseases (ID) consult patients on vancomycin. The service was piloted by the pharmacy residents and 2 clinical pharmacists. The purpose of this study was to determine if a pharmacy to dose AUC protocol can safely and effectively be implemented.MethodsA first-order kinetics calculator was built into the electronic medical record and live education was provided to pharmacists. Pharmacists ordered levels, wrote progress notes, and communicated to teams regarding dose adjustments. Patients were included based upon ID consult and need for vancomycin. After a 3-month implementation period, a retrospective chart review was completed. Patients in the pre-implementation group were admitted 3 months prior to AUC pharmacy to dose, had an ID consult and were monitored by trough (TR) levels. The AUC group was monitored with a steady state peak and trough level to calculate AUC. The primary outcome evaluated time to goal AUC vs. time to goal TR. Secondary outcomes included number of dose adjustments made, total daily dose of vancomycin, and incidence of nephrotoxicity.ResultsA total of 64 patients met inclusion criteria, with 37 patients monitored by TR and 27 patients monitored by AUC. Baseline characteristics were similar except for weight in kilograms (TR 80.0 ±25.4 vs AUC 92.0 ±26.7; p=0.049). The average time to goal AUC was 4.13 (±2.08) days, and the average time to goal TR was 4.19 (±2.30) days (p=0.982). More dose adjustments occurred in the TR group compared to the AUC (1 vs 2; p=0.037). There was no difference between the two groups in dosing (TR 15.8 mg/kg vs AUC 16.4 mg/kg; p=0.788). Acute kidney injury occurred in 5 patients in the AUC group and 11 patients in the TR group (p=0.765).ConclusionFewer dose adjustments and less nephrotoxicity was seen utilizing an AUC based protocol. Our small pilot has shown that AUC pharmacy to dose can be safely implemented. Larger studies are needed to evaluate reduction in time to therapeutic goals.Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures

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