Systemic Absorption of Enteral Vancomycin in a Patient with Pseudomembranous Colitis
- PETER G. SPITZER, M.D.; and
- GEORGE M. ELIOPOULOS, M.D.
Excerpt
Orally administered vancomycin has become the preferred mode of therapy for pseudomembranous colitis due to Clostridium difficile toxin (1). The popularity of this regimen is based, in part, on the general assumption that systemic absorption of the antibiotic from the intestine is "trivial" (2). We describe the case of a patient with pseudomembranous colitis and severe renal failure in whom enteral administration of vancomycin resulted in significant serum levels of the drug.
A 62-year-old man was admitted to the New England Deaconess Hospital on 21 April 1983 for treatment of fecal impaction. The patient had a history of diabetes mellitus,
This 100-word excerpt has been provided in the absence of an abstract.
Acknowledgments
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: The authors thank Dr. Robert C. Moellering, Jr., for helpful advice; and P. Vaiginas, W. Spitzer, and F. Larson for assistance in preparing this manuscript.
Article and Author Information
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▸Requests for reprints should be addressed to George M. Eliopoulos, M.D.; Department of Medicine, New England Deaconess Hospital, 185 Pilgrim Road; Boston, MA 02215.
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