title: Age-related morphine kinetics in infants.
abstract: The pharmacokinetics of morphine was studied in 27 infants receiving a single intravenous dose of 0.1 mg/kg morphine after surgery (n = 23) or during mechanical ventilation (n = 4). The pharmacokinetics of morphine varied greatly between the subjects, especially in the neonates. The clearance and half-life varied distinctly with postnatal age. The mean (+/- SD) half-life was 8.1 +/- 8.1 h in 10 neonates younger than 1 week, 5.4 +/- 3.4 h in 10 infants aged from 1 week to 2 months and 2.6 +/- 1.7 h in 7 infants aged from 2 to 6 months. Mean clearance increased significantly with age, being 8.7 +/- 5.8 ml/min/kg in the youngest age group, 11.9 +/- 5.1 ml/min/kg in those aged 1 week to 2 months and 28.0 +/- 8.9 ml/min/kg in those aged 2-6 months, and was also significantly lower in the critically ill infants. The clearance and half-life of morphine begin to approach adult values after the age of 1 month, but great individual variability exists even after that. In order to reduce the risk of overdosing or underdosing, the dose of morphine should be titrated individually.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, University of Oulu, Finland.
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Pokela
authors.forename: K T
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Olkkola
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Seppälä
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Koivisto
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000097:blood; D006439:Hemodynamics / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn / Q000097:blood* / Q000254:growth & development; D007275:Injections, Intravenous; D009020:Morphine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D012121:Respiration, Artificial
chemical_list: D009020:Morphine