Celovan Dosage/Direction for Use

Dosage: Vancomycin is recommended to be administered by intermittent IV infusion for the treatment of systemic infections. It is very irritating to the tissue and must not be given IM. To minimize adverse effects, concentrations of no more than 5 mg/mL and rates of no more than 10 mg/min are recommended in adults. In selected patients in need of fluid restriction, a concentration up to 10 mg/mL may be used; use of higher concentrations may increase the risk of infusion-related adverse effects. Infusion-related adverse effects may occur, however, at any rate or concentration.
Reconstitution & administration: Dissolve 500 mg in 10 ml of Sterile Water for Injection to give a solution of 50 mg/mL. Reconstituted solutions containing 500 mg of Vancomycin must be further diluted with at least 100 ml of diluent. The desired dose should be administered by intermittent IV infusion over a period of at least 60 minutes.
Compatibility with IV Fluids: 5% Dextrose Injection; 0.9% Sodium Chloride Injection.
Patients with Normal Renal Function: Adults: The usual IV dose is 2 g daily, divided either as 500 mg every 6 hours or 1 g every 12 hours. Factors such as age and obesity in patients may need modification of the usual daily IV dose.
Children: The usual IV dosage is 10 mg/kg/dose given every 6 hours.
Infants and Neonates: The recommended initial dosage of 15 mg/kg, followed by 10 mg/kg every 12 hours for neonates in the first week of life and every 8 hours for infants from 1 week to 1 month of age. Close monitoring of serum concentrations may be warranted in these patients.
Patients with impaired renal function: In patients with impaired renal function, including premature infants and elderly patients, greater dosage reductions than expected may be necessary because of decreased renal function. Measurement of Vancomycin serum concentrations can be helpful in optimizing therapy, especially seriously ill patients with changing renal function.
For functional anephric patients, an initial IV dose of 15 mg/kg of body weight should be given to achieve prompt therapeutic serum concentrations. Subsequent dosage must be based mainly on renal function and serum concentrations of the drug.