Known brand names include Vancocin.
A glycopeptide antibiotic given IV for serious gram-positive infections such as MRSA bloodstream, heart valve, bone, skin, and lung infections. Taken by mouth, it stays in the gut and treats C. difficile diarrhea. Kidney function, hearing, and blood levels need watching.
Vancomycin kills bacteria mainly by stopping them from building their cell walls. It also makes their outer membrane leakier and disrupts how they make RNA. Paired with an aminoglycoside, another antibiotic, it works more strongly against many staph, strep, and enterococcus bacteria. It does not work against fungi, mycobacteria such as the germs that cause tuberculosis, or a large group called gram-negative rods.
The gut barely absorbs it, so doses taken by mouth mostly stay in the intestine, though some can reach the blood in people with active C. difficile infection. Given by IV, it is not broken down, and the kidneys clear most of it into the urine, with half gone in about 4 to 6 hours when they work normally. Weak kidneys slow its removal, and the label warns that it can injure the kidneys and harm hearing. People should start to feel better within the first few days of treatment.
Vancomycin is an antibiotic for serious infections caused by staph and certain other bacteria, including MRSA, a type of staph that resists some common antibiotics. Given by IV, it treats infections of the blood, heart valves, bones, skin, and lungs. For staph that is not resistant, it is used when someone is allergic to penicillin or cannot take, or did not improve on, penicillins or cephalosporins. Taken by mouth, it treats C. difficile diarrhea and a staph infection of the intestine.
It is used in adults and in children younger than 18. The IV form is dripped slowly into a vein, in a hospital or at home after a healthcare provider shows how. For some heart valve infections, it is given together with other antibiotics, such as an aminoglycoside. The IV form does not treat C. difficile, and the form taken by mouth does not treat infections elsewhere in the body.
Taken by mouth, it can cause nausea, stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhea, and low potassium. Given by IV too quickly, it can cause itching and flushing of the face, neck, and upper body, and the vein can become sore. The label treats kidney injury and hearing damage, which can be permanent, as serious. It also warns about a drop in blood pressure with fast infusions, low white blood cell counts, severe skin reactions, and C. difficile diarrhea with IV use.