Vancomycin

Overview
Department	Biochemistry
Test Code	VANC
Synonyms
Availability	Monday - Sunday, testing routinely available out of hours
Turnaround Time	1 - 5 hours
Stability – Add test
Specimen Requirements
Specimen	Plasma Serum
Preferred	6 mL Plain Red-Top
Acceptable	4 mL Green-Top
Unacceptable
Specimen Transportation
Paediatric Requirements	600 μL Li-Hep Microtainer
Aliquot Requirements
Sample	Serum
Preferred Volume	1 mL
Minimum Volume	0.2 mL
Aliquot Transportation
Clinical Information
Reference Intervals
Test Method	Cobas 6000, Roche reagent.   Homogenous enzyme immunoassay.
Advanced Notice	Not required
Patient Preparation	State time and amount of last dose and time of sampling on request form
Comments
Trough vancomycin concentrations between 5 and 15 mg/L are considered to be optimal for efficacy and the avoidance of toxicity.   However, higher trough concentrations are recommended with some infections.   Vancomycin clearance is reduced with renal impairment.