Chloramphenicol disposition in infants and children.
We studied the pharmacokinetics of chloramphenicol following its intravenous administration as the sodium succinate ester to 54 infants and children. The mean "apparent t 1/2" of chloramphenicol clearance from the plasma was 5.94 hours (range 0.87 to 17.8 hours). The t 1/2 of patients who weighed less than 10 kg was significantly longer than that of those who weighed more than 10 kg (9.02 vs 4.55 hours; P less than 0.0001). There was a discrepancy between the plasma levels of chloramphenicol and total aromatic nitro compounds in four patients; these compounds were cleared at different rates. Repeated dosing (eight to 30 doses) did not produce a consistent effect on the t 1/2. The CSF concentrations of chloramphenicol in 13 patients were 67% (range 45 to 99%) of the simultaneous serum concentrations. We conclude that the marked individual variation in chloramphenicol pharmacokinetics in infants and children requires monitoring of blood concentrations during therapy.
D000367:Age Factors; D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002701:Chloramphenicol / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000097:blood* / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D006207:Half-Life; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007232:Infant, Newborn, Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy; D007275:Injections, Intravenous; D009574:Nitro Compounds / Q000097:blood
D009574:Nitro Compounds; D002701:Chloramphenicol