Intravenous ribavirin therapy in a neonate with disseminated adenovirus infection undergoing extracorporeal membrane oxygenation: pharmacokinetics and clearance by hemofiltration.

Intravenously administered ribavirin (20 mg/kg per day) was given to a neonate with disseminated adenovirus infection requiring extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and hemofiltration. Plasma concentrations at steady state were 4.81 to 8.47 micrograms/ml, hemofiltration sieving-coefficient was 0.85, and hemofiltration clearance (0.046 L/kg per hour) was similar to the renal clearance reported with normal kidney function. Despite low plasma concentrations, results of viral cultures were negative within 48 hours of initiation of ribavirin therapy, suggesting that plasma concentrations may not adequately predict inhibition of adenovirus replication in vivo.