Abstract
Amoxicillin (AM) is one of the most frequently used antibiotics in the treatment of bacterial infections in the preterm infants. Despite the widespread use of AM in neonatal intensive care units, pharmacokinetic studies in preterm infants are not available. The recommended dosage of AM is 50-100mg/kg/24h. We studied the multiple-dose pharmacokinetics of AM (25 mg/kg q12h) in 17 preterm infants (gest. age 29 ± 1.9 wks) on day 3 of life. Blood samples were taken before (t = 0) and 1/2, 1, 2, 4, 8, and 12 hrs after the AM dose and analyzed by HPLC-assay.
The glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of all infants was simultaneously studied by means of the 24h continuous inulin infusion technique to investigate the effect of GFR on the clearance of AM. The results were:
Conclusions. 1. Amoxicillin 25 mg/kg q12h results in adequate serum levels of AM in preterm infants with a gestational age below 32 weeks on day 3 of life. 2. The total body clearance of AM (1.0 ± 0.4 ml/min) and the GFR (1.0 ± 0.3 ml/min) are equal, indicating that AM is primarily excreted by glomerular filtration in the preterm infant.
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Van Den Anker, J., Huisman-De Boer, J., Vogel, M. et al. 10 AMOXICILLIN PHARMACOKINETICS IN THE PRETERM INFANT. Pediatr Res 36, 4 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199407000-00010
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199407000-00010