Intravenous administration of vancomycin is ineffective against bacteremia following tooth extraction.

The incidence of transient bacteremia after tooth extraction without antimicrobial prophylaxis has been reported was high as 69.2%; that with intravenous ampicillin as 4.2% (1, 2). Currently, we tested a regime of vancomycin that was recommended by the American Heart Association as prophylaxis for oral surgery patients who were allergic to penicillin and evaluated its effectiveness. Before the surgical procedures, we started an intravenous drip infusion of vancomycin. Ten of 26 patients became blood culture positive (38.5%). Seventeen strains of bacteria were isolated. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentrations (MICs) of vancomycin were lower than 3.13 micrograms/ml, with just one exception.