Pharmacokinetics of amikacin in children with kwashiorkor.

The pharmacokinetics of intravenous amikacin, administered as a mean (SD) bolus dose of 5.5 (1.2) mg/kg to children between the ages of 1 and 4 years with kwashiorkor, was studied. Although there was a tendency for the average volume of distribution to increase to the upper limit of normal, plasma elimination half-life, first order elimination-phase rate constant and clearance remained close to the reference values for adults. Despite marginal elevation of the average t1/2 beta-value, reflecting a general trend, renal impairment in respect of amikacin clearance could not be demonstrated. It was concluded that the changes in pharmacokinetic parameters found in kwashiorkor are not large enough to amend the current therapeutic regimens for amikacin in this condition.