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Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, February 2009, p. 483-486, Vol. 53, No. 2
0066-4804/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AAC.01088-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Vancomycin Ototoxicity: a Reevaluation in an Era of Increasing Doses {triangledown}

Avisheh Forouzesh,1 Pamela A. Moise,2 and George Sakoulas1,3*

Division of Infectious Diseases, New York Medical College, Valhalla, New York,1 University of the Pacific School of Pharmacy, Stockton,2 Department of Medicine, Sharp Memorial Hospital, San Diego, California3

Received 12 August 2008/ Returned for modification 3 October 2008/ Accepted 29 October 2008

Nephrotoxicity and ototoxicity have historically been documented as relatively rare complications of vancomycin monotherapy. Recent reports have linked aggressive vancomycin dosing strategies to significant risks of nephrotoxicity. We evaluated the rate of high-frequency hearing loss detected by audiometry for patients on vancomycin therapy. For this purpose, we used retrospective case-control analysis of audiometry results for patients on vancomycin therapy for whom baseline and follow-up exams were available. Analysis of 89 patients for whom audiograms were performed after an average of 27 days of vancomycin therapy showed a 12% rate of high-frequency hearing loss, with a trend in univariate analysis toward a higher rate with advanced age. The mean of the highest vancomycin trough levels for both patients with worsening audiograms and those without worsening audiograms was 19 mg/liter. Regression tree modeling demonstrated that for patients <53 years old, the rate of high-frequency hearing loss detected by audiogram was 0%, while for patients >53 years old, the incidence was 19% (P = 0.008). We conclude that a significant rate of high-frequency hearing loss in older patients receiving vancomycin monotherapy was detected by audiometry. While these data urge caution against continued indiscriminate vancomycin dose escalation to treat infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus strains for which vancomycin MICs are 2 mg/liter, further prospective studies are needed to determine the clinical significance and reversibility of these effects.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Infectious Diseases, Sharp Memorial Hospital, 7910 Frost Street, Suite 320, San Diego, CA 92123. Phone: (858) 292-4211. Fax: (858) 292-7117. E-mail: george.sakoulas{at}sharp.com

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 10 November 2008.

Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, February 2009, p. 483-486, Vol. 53, No. 2
0066-4804/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AAC.01088-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Shields, R. K., Martello, J. L., Potoski, B. A., Sakoulas, G., Moise, P. A. (2009). Is Vancomycin Ototoxicity a Significant Risk?. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 53: 4572-4573 [Full Text]  


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