Stavance Special Precautions

Rapid bolus administration (e.g., over several minutes) may be associated with exaggerated hypotension, including shock and rarely cardiac arrest.
Vancomycin Hydrochloride for Injection, should be administered in a diluted solution over a period of not less than 60 minutes to avoid rapid-infusion-related reactions. Stopping the infusion usually results in prompt cessation of these reactions.
Ototoxicity has occurred in patients receiving Vancomycin Hydrochloride for injection. It may be transient or permanent. It has been reported mostly in patients who have been given excessive doses, who have an underlying hearing loss, or who are receiving concomitant therapy with another ototoxic agent, such as an aminoglycoside. Vancomycin should be used with caution in patients with renal insufficiency because the risk of toxicity is appreciably increased by high, prolonged blood concentrations.
Dosage of Vancomycin Hydrochloride for Injection, must be adjusted for patients with renal dysfunction.
Clostridium difficile associated diarrhea (CDAD) has been reported with use of nearly all antibacterial agents, including Vancomycin Hydrochloride for injection, and may range in severity from mild diarrhea to fatal colitis. Treatment with antibacterial agents alters the normal flora of the colon leading to overgrowth of C. difficile. C. difficile produces toxins A and B which contribute to the development of CDAD. Hypertoxin producing strains of C. difficile cause increased morbidity and mortality, as these infections can be refractory to antimicrobial therapy and may require colectomy. CDAD must be considered in all patients who present with diarrhea following antibiotic use. Careful medical history is necessary since CDAD has been reported to occur over two months after the administration of antibacterial agents.
If CDAD is suspected or confirmed, ongoing antibiotic use not directed against C. difficile may need to be discontinued. Appropriate fluid and electrolyte management, protein supplementation, antibiotic treatment of C. difficile, and surgical evaluation should be instituted as clinically indicated.
General: Clinically significant serum concentrations have been reported in some patients being treated for active C. difficile-induced pseudomembranous colitis after multiple oral doses of vancomycin.
Prolonged use of Vancomycin Hydrochloride for Injection may result in the overgrowth of nonsusceptible microorganisms. Careful observation of the patient is essential. If super infection occurs during therapy, appropriate measures should be taken. In rare instances, there have been reports of pseudomembranous colitis due to C. difficile developing in patients who received intravenous Vancomycin Hydrochloride for injection.
In order to minimize the risk of nephrotoxicity when treating patients with underlying renal dysfunction or patients receiving concomitant therapy with an aminoglycoside, serial monitoring of renal function should be performed and particular care should be taken in following appropriate dosing schedules.
Serial tests of auditory function may be helpful in order to minimize the risk of ototoxicity.
Reversible neutropenia has been reported in patients receiving Vancomycin Hydrochloride for injection. Patients who will undergo prolonged therapy with Vancomycin Hydrochloride for Injection or those who are receiving concomitant drugs which may cause neutropenia should have periodic monitoring of the leukocyte count.
Vancomycin Hydrochloride for Injection is irritating to tissue and must be given by a secure intravenous route of administration. Pain, tenderness, and necrosis occur with intramuscular (IM) injection of Vancomycin Hydrochloride for Injection, or with inadvertent extravasation. Thrombophlebitis may occur, the frequency and severity of which can be minimized by administering the drug slowly as a dilute solution (2.5 to 5 g/L) and by rotation of venous access sites.
There have been reports that the frequency of infusion-related events (including hypotension, flushing, erythema, urticaria, and pruritus) increases with the concomitant administration of anesthetic agents. Infusion-related events may be minimized by the administration of vancomycin as a 60-minute infusion prior to anesthetic induction. The safety and efficacy of vancomycin administered by the intrathecal (intralumbar or intraventricular) route or by the intraperitoneal route have not been established by adequate and well-controlled trials.
Although the safety and efficacy of vancomycin by the intraperitoneal route have not been established, reports have revealed that administration of sterile vancomycin by the intraperitoneal route during continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) has resulted in a syndrome of chemical peritonitis. To date, this syndrome has ranged from a cloudy dialysate alone to a cloudy dialysate accompanied by variable degrees of abdominal pain and fever. This syndrome appears to be short-lived after discontinuation of intraperitoneal vancomycin.
Prescribing Vancomycin Hydrochloride for injection, USP in the absence of a proven or strongly suspected bacterial infection or a prophylactic indication is unlikely to provide benefit to the patient and increases the risk of the development of drug-resistant bacteria.
Use in Children: In pediatric patients, it may be appropriate to confirm desired vancomycin serum concentrations.
Concomitant administration of vancomycin and anesthetic agents has been associated with erythema and histamine-like flushing in pediatric patients.
Use in the Elderly: The natural decrement of glomerular filtration with increasing age may lead to elevated vancomycin serum concentrations if dosage is not adjusted. Vancomycin dosage schedules should be adjusted in elderly patients.