Currently used dosage regimens of vancomycin fail to achieve therapeutic levels in approximately 40% of intensive care unit patients

Surprisingly, more than 40% of the patients did not reach an effective initial vancomycin trough level. Studies on pharmacokinetic and dosage regimens of vancomycin in intensive care unit patients are necessary to circumvent this high proportion of failures to obtain adequate initial vancomycin trough levels. Vancomycin use without trough serum level monitoring in critically ill patients should be discouraged.