vancomycin

[Guest guest]

As many of you know, I have permanent vestibular loss due to the gentamicin that

was used to combat a life threatening nosocomial infection after an ERCP. That

means that the " hair cells " in my ears were damaged and I have lost some hearing

and my sense of balance. While vancomycin is not an aminoglycoside like " gent "

there have been some reports of ototoxicity attributed to vancomycin. The

reports may be valid or flawed, but I think that you should be aware of

potential damage and react quickly if anyone taking vancomycin shows signs of

hearing loss, loss of balance or tinnitus. The issue is somewhat clouded in

that, very often in emergency situations, several drugs are used simultaneously.

In my case, I was on long term IV " gent " so we are sure that it was the culprit.

Penny

[Guest guest]

I'd like to make an important point about the vancomycin studies conducted at

Stanford with pediatric patients, and in the Boston, MA area with adult

patients. These studies are with oral vancomycin, not with intravenous

vancomycin. The oral vancomycin is not absorbed from the gut, and so is only

affecting bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract. Vancomycin is a very large

molecule, and is not absorbed orally (the molecule is too big to be transported

across the gut membranes):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancomycin

Dave

(father of (23); PSC 07/03; UC 08/03)

[Guest guest]

Some small amount of it may be transported across the gut membrane - the warnings for oral vanco do caution that it is found in breast milk, so it should be used cautiously in nursing mother. Anyone participating in the studies should go into them with eyes wide open (including to the risk of hearing loss or other side effects). The risks are far lower for the reasons you have identified, but I suspect they are not completely non-existent.But - weighing the possibility of hearing loss against the possibility of remission for PSC, it seems a relatively small price. Before my daughter signs on the dotted line (assuming she meets the criteria to participate), I will make sure she understands all of the potential risks. , Mom to 18 yo daughter UC 6/95,

PSC 3/09To: Sent: Thursday, April 9, 2009 8:29:50 PMSubject: Re: vancomycin

I'd like to make an important point about the vancomycin studies conducted at Stanford with pediatric patients, and in the Boston, MA area with adult patients. These studies are with oral vancomycin, not with intravenous vancomycin. The oral vancomycin is not absorbed from the gut, and so is only affecting bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract. Vancomycin is a very large molecule, and is not absorbed orally (the molecule is too big to be transported across the gut membranes):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancomycin

Dave

(father of (23); PSC 07/03; UC 08/03)