Simple patch can make medications safer and more effective

Vancomycin is the antibiotic doctors reach for when almost nothing else will work. It's used in hospitals for serious drug-resistant infections, or for when an infection is spreading through the patient's bloodstream, but it's also notoriously tricky to dose: too little and it won't knock out the infection, too much and the patient risks kidney damage or even death. Up to 40% of patients receiving vancomycin develop an acute kidney injury.