Vancolife Dosage/Direction for Use

Adults: The usual intravenous dose is 500 mg every 6 hours or 1 g every 12 hours.
Children: The paediatric dosage of Vancomycin is calculated on the basis of 10 mg/kg bodyweight every six hours. In neonates and young infants, an initial dose of 15 mg/kg is suggested, followed by 10 mg/kg every 12 hours in the first week of life and every 8 hours thereafter until one month of age.
The majority of patients with infections caused by organisms susceptible to the antibiotic show therapeutic response by 48-72 hours. The total duration of therapy is determined by the type and severity of the infection and the clinical response of the patient. In staphylococcal endocarditis, therapy for three weeks or longer is recommended.
Adults with impaired renal function and the elderly: Dosage adjustment must be made in patients with impaired renal function. In premature and the elderly, dosage reduction may be necessary to a greater extent than expected because of decreasing renal function. (See table.)

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The table is not valid for functionally anephric patients. For such patients, an initial dose of 15 mg/kg of body weight should be given in order to achieve prompt therapeutic serum concentrations. The dose required to maintain stable concentrations is 1.9 mg/kg/24 h. Since individual maintenance doses of 250-1,000 mg are convenient, 1 dose may be given every several days rather than on a daily basis in patients with marked renal impairment. In anuria, a dose of 1,000 mg every 7-10 days has been recommended.
The following formula (based on sex, weight, and age of the patient) may be used to calculate creatinine clearance: See equation.

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The serum creatinine must represent a steady state of renal function. Such as calculated clearance is an overestimate of actual clearance in patients with conditions: characterized by decreasing renal function, such as shock severe heart failure, or oliguria; in which a normal relationship between muscle mass and total body weight is not present, such as obese patients or those with liver disease, edema, or ascites; and (3) accompanied by debilitation, malnutrition, or inactivity.
Oral administration for enterocolitis and antibiotic-associated pseudomembranous colitis caused by Clostridium difficile: Vancomycin hydrochloride is administered orally for the treatment of staphylococcal enterocolitis and antibiotic-associated pseudomembranous colitis (produced by C. difficile).
Vancomycin hydrochloride is not effective by the oral route for other types of infections. In systemic infection, it is administered by intravenous injection. The usual adult total daily dosage for antibiotic associated pseudomembranous colitis produced by C. difficile is 500 mg to 2 g in 3 or 4 divided doses for 7 to 10 days. The total daily dosage should not exceed 2 g.
Appropriate dose may be diluted in 30 g of distilled water and given to the patient to drink, or the diluted material may be administered via nasogastric tube. Dosage adjustment is based on age, body weight and symptoms.