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Side Effects > Vancomycin Hydrochloride

Vancomycin Hydrochloride Side Effects

Generic Name: Vancomycin

Please note - some side effects for Vancomycin Hydrochloride may not be reported. Always consult your doctor or healthcare specialist for medical advice. You may also report side effects to the FDA at http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/ or 1-800-FDA-1088 (1-800-332-1088).


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Vancomycin Hydrochloride

Infusion-Related Events: During or soon after rapid infusion of vancomycin, patients may develop anaphylactoid reactions, including hypotension, wheezing, dyspnea, urticaria, or pruritus. Rapid infusion may also cause flushing of the upper body (“Red Man Syndrome”) or pain and muscle spasm of the chest and back. These reactions usually resolve within 20 minutes but may persist for several hours. Such events are infrequent if vancomycin is given by a slow infusion over 60 minutes. In studies of normal volunteers, infusion-related events did not occur when vancomycin was administered at a rate of 10 mg/min or less.

Nephrotoxicity: Rarely, renal failure, principally manifested by increased serum creatinine or BUN concentrations, especially in patients given large doses of vancomycin, has been reported. Rare cases of interstitial nephritis have been reported. Most of these have occurred in patients who were given aminoglycosides concomitantly or who had preexisting kidney dysfunction. When vancomycin was discontinued, azotemia resolved in most patients.

Ototoxicity: A few dozen cases of hearing loss associated with vancomycin have been reported. Most of these patients had kidney dysfunction or a preexisting hearing loss, or were receiving concomitant treatment with an ototoxic drug. Vertigo, dizziness, and tinnitus have been reported rarely.

Hematopoietic: Reversible neutropenia, usually starting one week or more after onset of therapy with vancomycin or after a total dosage of more than 25 g, has been reported for several dozen patients. Neutropenia appears to be promptly reversible when vancomycin is discontinued. Thrombocytopenia has rarely been reported.

Although a causal relationship has not been established, reversible agranulocytosis (granulocytes < 500/mm3) has been reported rarely.

Phlebitis: Inflammation at the injection site has been reported.

Gastrointestinal: Onset of pseudomembranous colitis symptoms may occur during or after antibiotic treatment.

Miscellaneous: Infrequently, patients have been reported to have had anaphylaxis, drug fever, chills, nausea, eosinophilia, rashes (including exfoliative dermatitis), linear IgA bullous dermatosis, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, toxic epidermal necrolysis, and rare cases of vasculitis in association with the administration of vancomycin. Chemical peritonitis has been reported following intraperitoneal administration of vancomycin.

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