Vancomycin Calculator

Patient Parameters

Actual body weight:
Volume of distribution (Vd): L/kg

Elimination Constant (Kel)

Height:
Age: years
Creatinine: mg/dL
Gender:
Press 'Calculate' to see the proposed recommendations.

About This Calculator

This vancomycin calculator uses a variety of methods to estimate a patient’s elimination constant (Kel), and uses published pharmacokinetic equations to estimate the most appropriate dose in order to achieve a specified vancomycin goal (either AUC:MIC or a trough level).

By default, all doses are rounded to the nearest 250 mg and to appropriate dosing intervals (eg, Q8h, Q12h, Q24h) to reflect clinical practice.

This calculator is not appropriate for the following patient populations, or may require a higher degree of clinical judgment:

  • Hemodialysis
  • Pediatrics
  • Unstable renal function
  • Vancomycin MIC ≥ 2 mcg/mL

References and Additional Reading References and Additional Reading

Mobile Applications

Android Vancomycin Calculator App
iPhone/iPad Vancomycin Calculator App

Additional Articles

Essential Reading

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Cite This Page

©2013 - Sean Patrick Kane, PharmD, BCPS. All rights reserved.
Disclaimer - Privacy Policy
Created May 23, 2011 - Updated May 18, 2013
Infusion time
Therapeutic goal
MIC of organism mcg/mL
Body weight for CrCl
Kel estimation Help
Creatinine assay method
IDMS is the newer, more precise method for measuring serum creatinine. Older methods falsely inflated the creatinine assay by as much as 20%. Most institutions are using IDMS by this point, but you should contacting your laboratory if you are unsure of your assay. For more information, read more about IDMS.

This tool may be used to determine a patient's level after an elapsed time period, which may be useful when deciding when to redose a patient who has a supratherapeutic level.

Most recent level: mcg/mL
Kel hr-1
Elapsed time: hrs
Predicted level: mcg/mL

The original Cockcroft-Gault (1976) equation utilizes an "ideal body weight", or IBW, in order to estimate glomerular filtration. This equation, from the Devine 1974 paper,1 has since undergone scrutiny for poor accuracy in calculating creatinine clearance via Cockcroft-Gault.

Although there are numerous methods to determine the most accurate weight for the Cockcroft-Gault equation, this calculator is capable of using the following formulas:

  • Adjusted body weight: If the patient is more than 30% above their IBW (using Devine 1974), the following adjustment is made: Adjusted = 0.4*(Actual-Ideal)+Ideal
  • Ideal body weight (Devine 1974): Originally developed for gentamicin dosing, this equation has become the standard method of calculating ideal body weight for adults
  • Lean body weight 2005 (Janmahasatian 2005): By far the newest method for calculating "lean body weight", rather than "ideal" body weight, which may better correlate to the most optimal weight to use in the Cockcroft-Gault equation. This equation does not require an additional adjustment for obesity because obesity is "built-in" to the equation.

For more information, please see the 'References and Additional Reading' section at the bottom of the page.