Dosage of salicylates for children with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. A preliminary report.

The daily dosage of salicylates is traditionally very high for patients with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. In order to achieve the optimal therapeutic effect, serum salicylate levels are kept at 30-35 mg/100 ml (2175-2540 mumol/l). The recommended daily dosage in the textbooks is about 100 mg/kg of body weight, and the reported dosage/m2 of body surface area has been 3.2 g/m2/day. These dosages are, however, too high in clinical routine. In the present investigation, 19 children were treated with salicylates for 15 days with daily check-ups of the serum salicylate levels. Seven of these children had symptoms of salicylate intoxication which corresponded closely to the serum salicylate levels. If the daily dosage of salicylates exceeds 3 g/m2 of body surface area, intoxication can be expected.