Other antibiotics have been reported to cause liver disease. Some examples include minocycline (an antibiotic related to tetracycline), and Cotrimoxazole (a combination of sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim).

Inflammatory bowel disease processes can result in increased absorption of oral vancomycin. Conclusions: This is the first reported case of oral vancomycin-induced elevation of hepatic enzyme levels. Use of the Naranjo probability scale indicated that this was a probable adverse drug-associated event.

The results confirmed that vancomycin is not metabolized in the liver and most of the vancomycin ingested in the body is excreted in the urine.

Side effects of vancomycin include:

• bitter taste.
• reddish rash on face and upper body (intravenously: red neck or red man syndrome, related to infusion rate)
• low blood pressure accompanied by flushing.
• nausea.
• vomiting.
• chills.
• drug fever.
• high levels of white blood cells (eosinophilia)

Vancomycin, long considered a “drug of last resort,” kills by preventing bacteria from building cell walls. It binds to wall-building protein fragments called peptides, in particular those that end with two copies of the amino acid D-alanine (D-ala).

Tell your doctor right away if you have any serious side effects, including: ringing in the ears, hearing problems, change in the amount of urine, easy bleeding/bruising, fever, persistent sore throat, persistent diarrhea.

The usual dose is 40 milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg) of body weight, divided into 3 or 4 doses, and taken for 7 to 10 days. However, dose is usually not more than 2000 mg per day.

Vancomycin is cleared primarily in the kidneys. In large amounts, vancomycin can cause kidney problems such as acute kidney injury (AKI).

In healthy patients, the half-life of vancomycin is between 4 to 6 hours; in patients lacking functional kidneys, the half-life can be as long as 7.5 days.

Pain, redness, and tenderness at the injection site may occur. If this medication is injected too fast, a condition known as “red man syndrome” may occur. Tell your doctor promptly if you have symptoms such as flushing of the upper body, dizziness, or muscle pain/spasms of the chest and back.

With severe disease, initial therapy is recommended with vancomycin 125 mg orally every 6 hours. If patients do not respond, vancomycin can be increased to 2 g daily and the addition of IV metronidazole and/or vancomycin enemas can be considered, as well as early surgical consultation.

Vancomycin is used to treat infections caused by bacteria. It works by killing bacteria or preventing their growth. Vancomycin will not work for colds, flu, or other virus infections. Vancomycin injection is also used to treat serious infections for which other medicines may not work.

Vancomycin is used to treat an infection of the intestines caused by Clostridium difficile, which can cause watery or bloody diarrhea. This medicine is also used to treat staph infections that can cause inflammation of the colon and small intestines.

In addition, vancomycin has been associated with reduced microbial diversity (8), weight gain, and acquired obesity in adults (9, 10).

“Instead,” he says, “clinicians administering vancomycin should be alert to the fact that it can cause severe immune thrombocytopenia and have their patient seen by a hematology consultant if they develop a low platelet count while under treatment with the drug.

Background. Oral vancomycin remains the mainstay of therapy for severe infections produced by Clostridium difficile, the most prevalent cause of healthcare-associated infectious diarrhoea in developed countries. However, its short- and long-term effects on the human intestinal microbiota remain largely unknown.

Vancomycin enhances biofilm formation with glucose but reduces propensity to form biofilms without glucose.

Vancomycin therapy has been linked many to instances of hypersensitivity with fever, rash and eosinophilia that can be associated with mild hepatic injury, but has only rarely been associated with severe or life-threatening liver injury.

Vancomycin capsules and oral solution need to be administered three to four times daily. May affect kidney function; the risk is greatest in those older than 65 years. Monitoring of kidney function during and immediately following treatment may be required.