Pharmacokinetics of vancomycin in critically ill children: A systematic review

Abstract

Vancomycin is often used in the ICU for the treatment of Gram-positive bacterial infection. In critically ill children, there are pathophysiologic changes that afect the pharmacokinetics of vancomycin. A systematic review of vancomycin pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics in critically ill children was performed.Pharmacokinetic studies of vancomycin in critically ill children published up to May 2021 were included in the review provided they included children aged > 1 month. Studies including neonates were excluded. A search was performed using the PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases. The Risk of Bias Assessment Tool for Systematic Reviews (ROBIS) was used to check for quality and reduce bias. Data on study characteristics, patient demographics, clinical parameters, pharmacokinetic parameters, outcomes, and study limitations were collected.