PEDIATRICS Vol. 64 No. 4 October 1979, pp. 549-550
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Neonatal Ticarcillin Dosage

John D. Nelson MD1

1 Professor of Pediatrics, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School at Dallas, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75235

We recently reported our experience with ticarcillin in neonates.1 We concluded that the dosage schedule tested, which is currently in the package insert, was needlessly complex and probably excessive. Based upon thepharmacokinetics, a simplified dosage schedule was proposed.

The proposed schedule was intended to produce peak serum concentrations one hour after a dose of 125 to 150 µg/ml and trough concentrations of 25 to 50 µg/ml immediately before a dose. The simplified schedule has been tested in neonates being treated for presumed sepsis and, as shown in the Table, the results are consistent with the predictions. The higher peak levels found in low birth weight babies in the first week of life are desirable in that they assure that adequate serum concentrations persist through most of the 12-hour interval between doses.