Vancomycin Taper and Pulse Regimen With Careful Follow-up for Patients With Recurrent Clostridium difficile Infection

Clin Infect Dis. 2017 Oct 15;65(8):1396-1399. doi: 10.1093/cid/cix529.

Abstract

We retrospectively studied vancomycin taper and pulse treatment on 100 consecutive, evaluable patients with recurrent Clostridium difficile infection. Following taper to once-daily vancomycin dosing, 22 of 36 patients (61%) who received every-other-day dosing (QOD) and 50 of 64 (81%) who received QOD followed by every-third-day dosing were cured (P = .03).

Keywords: C. difficile; pulse; recurrence; taper; vancomycin.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents* / administration & dosage
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents* / therapeutic use
  • Clostridioides difficile
  • Clostridium Infections / drug therapy*
  • Clostridium Infections / epidemiology*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Recurrence
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Vancomycin* / administration & dosage
  • Vancomycin* / therapeutic use

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Vancomycin