title: Acetaminophen accumulation in pediatric patients after repeated therapeutic doses.
abstract: Acetaminophen serum concentrations were studied in 21 infants and children with fever. The maximum serum concentrations ranged from 9.96 to 19.6 micrograms/ml after a single dose of 12-14 mg/kg and 13.9 to 40.1 micrograms/ml after a single dose of 22-27 mg/kg. Ten patients were restudied at steady-state after repeat doses had been given every 4 or 8 h for 1 to 3 days. Total area under the acetaminophen serum concentration-time curve normalized for dose averaged 0.181 (ml/min/kg)-1 after the first dose and 0.202 (ml/min/kg)-1 at steady-state (p less than 0.05). Five patients showed a 13 to 44% increase in the AUC; one had a 10% decrease in the AUC; and four had less than 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.
mesh_terms: D000082:Acetaminophen / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005334:Fever / Q000188:drug therapy; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007677:Kidney Function Tests; D007700:Kinetics; D008111:Liver Function Tests; D008297:Male
chemical_list: D000082:Acetaminophen