In the article, we consider the instructions for use with Vancomycin, its composition, indications and reviews about the drug.
It is a broad-spectrum antibiotic. It is prescribed where other medicines do not help. The tool perfectly treats infections caused by bacteria that are adapted to the penicillin group of antibiotics and cephalosporins.
But you should remember that you need to take the medicine only as prescribed by the doctor and with strict adherence to the schedule of administration and dosage.
Description
“Vancomycin” refers to tricyclic antibiotics from the glycopeptide group. This group is formed from Amycolatopisorientalis. The drug is bactericidal, it has an effect on almost all microorganisms. At the same time, it acts on enterococci bacteriostatically.
It prevents the development of pathology in those areas where other drugs stop working. The drug protects the cell membrane, inhibits the development of ribonucleic acid.
The composition and properties of the drug
According to the instructions for Vancomycin, the main active ingredient of the drug is vancomycin hydrochloride. It is sold in pharmacies in the form of a powder, from which a solution is made before use. The drug is packaged in dosages of 500 and 1000 milligrams of the active substance.
It is sold strictly according to a doctor’s prescription. In it, the name of the drug can be written both in Russian and in Latin.
You can store the medicine for up to two years. You can keep it at home at a temperature of no more than eight degrees in the refrigerator. Do not make "Vancomycin" in tablets. The instructions for use confirm this. But in this form there are analogues of the drug.
The medicine copes with such bacteria:
- Staphylococci, both golden and epidermal, spherical bacteria.
- Streptococci and their varieties that multiply in the microflora of the human body - pyogenic streptococci, pneumococci, streptococci agalactia.
- Enterococci - gram-positive bacteria clostridium difficile.
- Corynebacteria - pathogens of diphtheria.
- All kinds of sticks - Listeria monocytogenes, radiant fungi, actinomycetes, clostridia, Doderlein stick and hay stick.
"Vancomycin" destroys microorganisms in the propagation stage. It negatively affects strains resistant to methicillin and penicillin.
However, it does not affect the simplest microorganisms; most gram pathogens, mycobacteria, fungi and viruses are not susceptible to it. To act on them, the drug should be combined with aminoglycosides.
The instruction for “Vancomycin” describes in detail the effect of the active substance on the body.
How does the human body react to the drug?
The active substance enters all human organs and tissues. Its maximum content in the body is formed one hour after taking the medicine.
The average half-life of the drug reaches five hours. In this case, the drug component is not involved in the metabolism. Up to 90% of the substance is excreted in the urine, the remaining 10% is excreted in the bile.
Among patients of different ages, this period may vary:
- in infants, it ranges from six to ten hours;
- in older children, this period reaches three hours;
- in adults, the half-life lasts about six hours;
- in anuretic patients, this period increases to seven hours;
- in patients with renal ailments, the period can take up to ten days.
In what cases should you take the drug
In accordance with the instructions, “Vancomycin” is prescribed for infectious and inflammatory diseases with a severe course caused by pathogens sensitive to it (when there is intolerance or ineffectiveness of therapy with other antibacterial drugs):
This medication is effective in the treatment of:
- Endocarditis - diseases of the inner lining of the heart, aortic and heart valves.
- Diseases that occur when an infection enters the bloodstream and spreads it in the body.
- Meningitis is an inflammatory process in the cortex of the brain and spinal cord.
- Pneumonia - pulmonary inflammation.
- Lung abscess is a form of inflammatory process in the lungs in which tissue melts and purulent necrotic cavities form.
- Arthritis - inflammation of the joints.
- Osteomyelitis is an infectious inflammatory disease that spreads from the bone marrow throughout the body.
- Acute inflammation of the large intestine, which can not be treated with another antibiotic.
- Staphylococcal enterocolitis is an acute disease that occurs against the background of infection with staphylococci that secrete enterotoxin.
- Any other disease not treated with penicillin and cephalosporin.
According to the instructions, “Vancomycin” is also used during dental operations, heart surgery.
When carrying a child in the second and third semester, the drug is prescribed only in extreme cases. In infants, premature infants, the elderly and patients with renal diseases, the concentration of vancomycin in the blood plasma is monitored during treatment with this drug.
Note that during the combination of taking the drug with anesthetics, the likelihood of side effects of the drug increases. Therefore, it is advisable during the treatment to constantly check the hearing and conduct a kidney examination, since the medication is toxic.
This is stated in the instructions for use with Vancomycin. Analogues of the drug will be considered below.
In what cases is it forbidden to prescribe a drug?
The drug has a number of contraindications. It is forbidden to use when:
- Abnormal kidney function.
- Nervous system problems and hearing loss due to inflammation of the auditory nerve.
- The period of bearing a child, especially in the first trimester.
- Breastfeeding.
- Strong susceptibility to the drug.
- Intolerance to its components.
How is Vancomycin taken?
The drug is irritating to the tissue, so it is preferable to enter it intravenously. When administered intramuscularly, the drug deadens soft tissues.
"Vancomycin" can be used as an independent tool for the treatment of diseases, and in combination with other drugs. With the introduction of the drug into a vein, its single dose should not exceed 5 ml. The drug is administered carefully for at least an hour, while the speed should be no more than ten milliliters per minute. If it is increased, it can lead to a collaptoid state.
The dosage of the drug is set by the attending physician.
The instructions say that for adults it is five hundred milligrams every six hours. The daily dosage should not exceed four grams.
The initial dosage for weekly babies can reach 15 milligrams per kilogram of weight, after which ten milligrams per kilogram every 12 hours. At a later date, the dosage is increased to ten milligrams every eight hours. Children older than one month of age are given ten milligrams every six hours.
This is confirmed by the instruction. Vancomycin tablets cannot be found for sale.
Side effects
Instructions for use of the drug warns of a number of negative side effects that may occur when taking the medicine.
We are talking about lowering blood pressure, cardiac arrest, lowering the level of white blood cells and the body's immune function, lowering the level of platelets, neutrophilic granulocytes, and the growth of eosinophils.
The patient may experience bitterness in the mouth, tinnitus, dizziness, hearing loss, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting. Taking the medicine may be accompanied by inflammation of the intestines, impaired renal function, including renal failure, allergic manifestations on the skin, urticaria, dermatitis and toxic epidermal necrolysis, vasculitis and tissue necrosis, thrombophlebitis.
With a violation of the speed of administration of the drug, red neck syndrome may appear. Before using the drug, a test is usually conducted for its susceptibility by the body. Doctors pay attention to the functioning of the urinary system and the work of the kidneys.
A medication in combination with anesthetics can lead to anaphylactic shock, and its use with amphotericin, diuretics, aminoglycosides, cyclosporine enhances side effects. While taking the medicine, alcohol should be discarded so as not to cause a malfunction in the liver.
The analogues of Vancomycin are not indicated in the instructions.
What drugs in tablets can replace it?
In medical practice, there are a number of antibiotic analogues that are similar both structurally and according to indications. Substitutes can also be used in tablets despite the fact that Vancomycin itself does not have this form of release.
Thus, the drug is replaced by Vankoled, Vanmixan, Vancomycin Qualimed, Edicin, Vancomabol, Vankorus and Moxifloxacin.
What do patients say about taking drugs?
Patients note that this is a very powerful medicine, which should be used with extreme caution and under strict medical supervision. It cures diseases well, Vancomycin has proven itself particularly well in the fight against infections arising from infection with bacteria that are immune to other antibiotics.
However, often people complain of severe side effects. Often the pressure decreases, suffocation appears, the heartbeat becomes quicker, and hearing is impaired. Often, medication is accompanied by redness on the skin. In this case, you should immediately adjust the course of treatment with the doctor or continue taking the drug in a hospital under the supervision of specialists.
We reviewed the detailed instructions for the antibiotic Vancomycin.