{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,16]],"date-time":"2026-05-16T10:43:47Z","timestamp":1778928227339,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,3,2]],"date-time":"2022-03-02T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1646179200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Medicina"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background and Objectives: Management of infectious diseases is a huge burden to every healthcare system worldwide. Antimicrobial resistance, including antibacterial resistance, is an increasing problem worldwide; therefore, more new antibiotics are necessary to be discovered. Meanwhile, \u201cold\u201d antibacterial agents are still administered to fight infectious diseases caused by resistant bacteria. One of these antibacterial agents is vancomycin, which is effective in treating serious systemic infections caused by gram-positive bacteria. Thus, it is necessary to perform vancomycin concentration measurements in plasma due to its narrow therapeutic index. Various approaches are implemented for more precise therapy, including therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) of vancomycin and with a supervision of a clinical pharmacist. The purpose of the study was to investigate if the TDM practice is improved with a local vancomycin TDM protocol applied in a hospital. The results of TDM in two multidisciplinary hospitals, one with a local TDM protocol implemented and applied and the other with no local TDM protocol implemented and applied, were compared. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study was performed in two multidisciplinary hospitals in Latvia. The data were collected for a time period of 4 years (2016\u20132020) in a hospital without a local TDM protocol and for a time period of 2 years (2018\u20132020) in a hospital with a local TDM protocol, starting with a period of time when the vancomycin TDM protocol was developed. The data about the patients included in the study were analyzed based on gender, age, body weight, and renal function. Vancomycin therapy was analyzed based on dosing schemes (vancomycin dose and dosing interval), data about loading and maintenance doses, vancomycin concentration, and details about vancomycin concentration (sampling time and concentration level). Results: Differences between the hospitals were found in terms of the initiation of vancomycin administration and concentration sampling. In the hospital with a TDM protocol compared with the hospital without a TDM protocol, more accurate initiation was found, alongside adaption of therapy (97.22% vs. 18.95%, p &lt; 0.001), better performance of administration of a loading dose (22.73% vs. 1.29%, p &lt; 0.01), and reaching of target concentration (55.56% vs. 35.29%, p &lt; 0.01). Concentration sampling in the correct timeframe before the vancomycin dose and vancomycin administration did not show statistically better results in either of the hospitals (4.60% vs. 6.29%, p = 0.786). Conclusions: Better results of adequate adjustments of vancomycin therapy were achieved in the hospital with a TDM protocol. In the long term, sustainable results and regular medical professionals\u2019 training is necessary.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/medicina58030370","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,3,2]],"date-time":"2022-03-02T22:53:25Z","timestamp":1646261605000},"page":"370","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":9,"title":["Experience of Vancomycin Therapeutic Drug Monitoring in Two Multidisciplinary Hospitals in Latvia"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"58","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3691-5520","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Inga","family":"Mauli\u0146a","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Riga East Clinical University Hospital, Hipokrata St. 2, LV-1038 Riga, Latvia"},{"name":"Vidzeme Hospital, Jumaras St. 195, LV-4201 Valmiera, Latvia"},{"name":"Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Riga Stradins University, LV-1007 Riga, Latvia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Kar\u012bna","family":"Darbiniece","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pauls Stradins Clinical University Hospital, Pilsonu St. 13, LV-1002 Riga, Latvia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"L\u0101sma","family":"Mi\u0137elsone-Jansone","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Riga Stradins University, 16 Dzirciema St., LV-1007 Riga, Latvia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ren\u0101rs","family":"Erts","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Latvia, Raina Blvd. 19, LV-1586 Riga, Latvia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9144-8799","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Dace","family":"Bandere","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Riga Stradins University, LV-1007 Riga, Latvia"},{"name":"Baltic Biomaterials Centre of Excellence, Headquarters at Riga Technical University, Dzirciema Street 16, LV-1007 Riga, Latvia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Angelika","family":"Kr\u016bmi\u0146a","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectiology, Riga Stradins University, 16 Dzirciema St., LV-1007 Riga, Latvia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,3,2]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"S5","DOI":"10.1086\/491709","article-title":"Vancomycin: A History","volume":"42","author":"Levine","year":"2006","journal-title":"Clin. 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