title: Dosage individualization in children: integration of pharmacometrics in clinical practice.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Children are in a continuous and dynamically changing state of growth and development. A thorough understanding of developmental pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD) is required to optimize drug therapy in children.
  
  
  METHODS
  Based on recent publications and the experience of our group, we present an outline on integrating pharmacometrics in pediatric clinical practice to develop evidence-based personalized pharmacotherapy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Antibiotics in septic neonates and immunosuppressants in pediatric transplant recipients are provided as proof-of-concept to demonstrate the utility of pharmacometrics in clinical practice. Dosage individualization based on developmental PK-PD model has potential benefits of improving the efficacy and safety of drug therapy in children.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The pharmacometric technique should be better developed and used in clinical practice to personalize drug therapy in children in order to decrease variability of drug exposure and associated risks of overdose or underdose.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shandong University, Jinan, 250012, China, wei.zhao@rdb.aphp.fr.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Stéphanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Leroux
authors.forename: Evelyne
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Jacqz-Aigrain
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000493:pharmacokinetics* / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016470:Bacteremia / Q000188:drug therapy; D002648:Child; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006801:Humans; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000493:pharmacokinetics* / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008432:Mathematical Computing; D008954:Models, Biological; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D016377:Organ Transplantation / Q000379:methods; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents