Prescribing Pattern of Vancomycin in a Community Teaching Hospital with Low Prevalence of Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci

A 1-month prospective survey of all inpatients given vancomycin was performed in a community teaching hospital with a low prevalence of vancomycin-resistant enterococci. Only 20 of the 97 vancomycin orders written from August 1 to September 1, 1996, were consistent with Hospital Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC) guidelines. Surgical prophylaxis accounted for 37 of the 77 orders inconsistent with HICPAC guidelines.