appropriate use of vancomycin in an educational tertiary care hospital in tehran, iran

abstract background: inappropriate prescription of vancomycin has been shown to be asso- ciated with induction of antibiotic resistance. the objective of this study was to deter- mine the incidence of inappropriate use of vancomycin in a tertiary care hospital in iran. methods: a descriptive cross-sectional investigation was performed from september 2004 to march 2005 in all units of a general teaching medical center in tehran. all adults and children who had vancomycin initiated in this medical center were enrolled in the study and the appropriateness of vancomycin use was determined according to cen- ters for disease control (cdc) guidelines. results: forty-four percent of vancomycin use was inappropriate with the highest in- cidence of inappropriate use occurring in surgical units. the most common inappropri- ate indication for vancomycin was routine surgical prophylaxis. conclusion: inappropriate use of vancomycin is very common in a tertiary care hos- pital in iran and could potentially be decreased by educating physicians about the cdc guidelines. these educational programs should target physicians in surgical units.