ABSTRACT
For treatment of severe malaria, the World Health Organization recommends 3 mg/kg intravenous artesunate in pediatric patients weighing less than 20 kg. Here we describe the Food and Drug Administration's rationale for selecting 2.4 mg/kg in pediatric patients weighing less than 20 kg based on literature review and independent analyses.
Subject(s)
Antimalarials , Malaria, Falciparum , Malaria , Antimalarials/therapeutic use , Artemisinins , Artesunate/therapeutic use , Body Weight , Child , Humans , Malaria/drug therapy , Malaria, Falciparum/drug therapy , United States , United States Food and Drug AdministrationABSTRACT
We reviewed information about the safety and plasma pharmacokinetic data for amoxicillin, specifically related to its potential use for postexposure inhalational anthrax. Amoxicillin (45 mg/kg/d) given orally in 3 divided doses to pediatric patients <40 kg should yield an adequate time above the MIC for susceptible Bacillus anthracis (< or =0.5 microg/mL) over most of the dosing interval (75-100%). Doses <45 mg/kg/d and dosing intervals longer than 8 hours should not be used for postexposure inhalational anthrax.