Abstract
Acetaminophen is commonly used to control fever but little is known about its kinetics in infants and children after repeated doses. Twenty-one patients (age 0.5-6.4 yrs) with fever received acetaminophen elixir at a dose of 72-90 mg/kg/day given in divided doses as 12-15 mg/kg every 4 hr or 24-30 mg/kg every 8 hr. Multiple blood samples were collected and analyzed by HPLC after the first dose and/or at steady-state (1-3 days of therapy). Maximum acetaminophen serum concentration ranged from 10.2-19.6 μg/ml in patients on every 4 hr schedule and 13.9-40.1 μg/ml in those on every 8 hr schedule. Area under the serum concentration-time curve (AUC) normalized for dose/kg averaged 0.209 (ml/min/kg)−1 and elimination half-life averaged 2.3 hr. In 10 patients, total normalized AUC averaged 0.181 and 0.202 (ml/min/kg)−1 after the first dose and at steady-state, respectively (p<0.05). Five patients showed a 13.2-43 5% increase and one had a 10.4% decrease in AUC; four had <6% change in the AUC. There was no evidence of hepatotoxicity. These data suggest that acetaminophen may accumulate after repeated therapeutic doses in children with fever.
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Nahata, M., Powell, D., Durrell, D. et al. ACETAMINOPHEN ACCUMULATION IN PEDIATRIC PATIENTS AFTER REPEATED THERAPEUTIC DOSES. Pediatr Res 18 (Suppl 4), 142 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198404001-00297
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198404001-00297