title: A drug dosage table is a useful tool to facilitate prescriptions of antiretroviral drugs for children in Thailand.
abstract: Scaling up of antiretroviral treatment (ART) for children in countries like Thailand will require decentralization and management by non-specialist doctors. We describe (a) the formulation of a standardized drug dosage table to facilitate antiretroviral drug (ARV) prescriptions for children, (b) the acceptability of such a table among doctors and (c) the safety and efficacy of drug doses in the table. Acceptability was assessed using a questionnaire. Safety and efficacy were assessed on the basis of incidence of adverse effects and virological response to treatment, respectively. Of all doctors (n=18), 17 (94%) found that the table was practical to use, avoided miscalculations and made them more confident with prescriptions. Of 49 children prescribed ARVs, less than 5% had adverse side-effects. All ARV-naïve children achieved undetectable viral loads within six months of ART. In our setting, a standardized drug dosage table provided a simple and reliable tool that facilitated ARV prescriptions for children.
authors.affiliation: Médecins Sans Frontières, Bangkok, Thailand.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ponnet
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Frederix
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Petdachai
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Eksaengsri
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zachariah
mesh_terms: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D023241:Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active / Q000379:methods*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D004347:Drug Interactions; D016903:Drug Monitoring; D011307:Drug Prescriptions; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality; D006801:Humans; D013785:Thailand
chemical_list: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents