title: Pharmacokinetics of gatifloxacin in infants and children.
abstract: Gatifloxacin is an 8-methoxy fluoroquinolone effective against a broad spectrum of pathogens common in pediatric infections. The safety and pharmacokinetics of a single dose of gatifloxacin were studied in pediatric patients from 6 months to 16 years of age. Seventy-six pediatric patients (average age, 6.7 +/- 5.0 years) were administered a single oral dose of gatifloxacin suspension (5, 10, or 15 mg/kg of body weight; 600-mg maximum) in a dose-escalating manner. Subjects were stratified by age into 4 groups. An additional 12 children, greater than 6 years of age, received gatifloxacin as the tablet formulation at a dose of approximately 10 mg/kg. Gatifloxacin's apparent clearance and half-life were 5.5 +/- 2.1 ml/min/kg and 5.1 +/- 1.4 h. The maximum concentration of drug in plasma and area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) increased in a manner approximately proportional to the dose. At the 10-mg/kg dose, the bioavailability was similar between the suspension and tablet formulation. The apparent oral clearance of gatifloxacin, normalized for body weight, exhibited a small but statistically significant decrease with increasing age. In all subjects receiving gatifloxacin at 10 mg/kg, the AUC exceeded 20 microg . h/ml (estimated free AUC/MIC ratio of > or =34 for MIC of < or =0.5 microg/ml). These data suggest that gatifloxacin at a dose of 10 mg/kg every 24 h will achieve therapeutic concentrations in plasma in infants and children.
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Pharmacology Research Unit, University of California, San Diego, California, USA. ecapparelli@ucsd.edu
authors.forename: Edmund V
authors.initials: EV
authors.lastname: Capparelli
authors.forename: Michael D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Reed
authors.forename: John S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Bradley
authors.forename: Gregory L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Kearns
authors.forename: Richard F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Jacobs
authors.forename: Bharat D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Damle
authors.forename: Jeffrey L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Blumer
authors.forename: Dennis M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Grasela
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D019540:Area Under Curve; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D024841:Fluoroquinolones / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000493:pharmacokinetics* / Q000494:pharmacology; D000077734:Gatifloxacin; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests
chemical_list: D024841:Fluoroquinolones; D000077734:Gatifloxacin
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