Vancomycin for pneumonia

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	How It Works
	Why It Is Used
	How Well It Works
	Side Effects
	What To Think About
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Vancomycin kills bacteria by preventing them from reproducing. It is given through a vein (intravenously, or IV).

Doctors use vancomycin to treat people who are in the hospital for severe infections that do not respond to other antibiotics. Infections may include those of the blood or bone; lower respiratory tract, such as pneumonia or complications of flu; and endocarditis.

In general, all antibiotics used have a high cure rate for pneumonia. For people in the hospital, cure rates are 73% to 96%; outside of the hospital, cure rates are generally above 80%.¹

Vancomycin is effective against Streptococcus pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus (especially the type that is methicillin-resistant), and Listeria monocytogenes, among other bacteria.

Side effects of vancomycin may include:

• Nausea.
• Fever.
• Chills.
• Low blood pressure.
• Hearing loss. This is rare, but it has occurred in people who received excessive doses, were taking another medicine that may cause hearing loss, or who already had some hearing loss. Hearing loss has also occurred in people with kidney disease.
• Kidney damage, especially in people who already have kidney problems.

See Drug Reference for a full list of side effects. (Drug Reference is not available in all systems.)

Doctors are careful about the use of vancomycin because using it too much can result in intestinal bacteria (enterococci) and types of Staphylococcus aureus (staph) that vancomycin can not always kill (resistance).²

Complete the new medication information form (PDF) (What is a PDF document?) to help you understand this medication.

Citations

1. Loeb M (2006). Community acquired pneumonia, search date April 2005. Online version of Clinical Evidence (15): 1–10.

2. Bartlett JG, et al. (2000). Guidelines from the Infectious Diseases Society of America: Practice guidelines for the management of community-acquired pneumonia in adults. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 31(2): 347–382.