Oral pivampicillin and amoxycillin in newborn infants.

Ampicillin was administered intramuscularly and amoxycillin or pivampicillin orally to 14 fasting newborn infants, 6-13 days old, in a cross-over trial. The dose was 50 mg/kg twice daily. The mean peak plasma level of amoxycillin and pivampicillin was 58% (range 35-96%) and 48% (33-82%) of that noted after i.m. ampicillin, which gave a value of about 44 +/- 5 micrograms/ml (mean +/- SEM) in both groups. The area under the time-concentration curve was 75% (range 60-101%) of that of i.m. ampicillin for amoxycillin and 51% (20-76%) for pivampicillin (p less than 0.05). Both drugs, especially amoxycillin, should be useful for oral treatment of neonatal infections caused by susceptible microorganisms in infants who are not critically ill.

RCT Entities:   Population Interventions Outcomes