Pharmacokinetics of amikacin in children with normal and impaired renal function.

The pharmacokinetics of the antibiotic amikacin sulfate were studied in eight children with normal renal function and in ten children with varying degrees of renal impairment. All patients received a single i.v. dose of 7.5 mg/kg of the antibiotic. Amikacin follows a two-compartment open-kinetic model. The serum half-life, which in children with normal renal function has an average value of 1 hour, reached values of 14 hours in children with severe renal impairment. A lineal relationship is established between the beta constant and the creatinine clearance (Clcr) according to the equation beta = 0.001 + 0.005.Clcr, with r = 0,818. From thie equation, the dosage interval is modified to maintain the serum concentrations of the antibiotic within the therapeutic interval.