Paediatric pharmacokinetics: Key considerations

Hannah Katharine Batchelor*, John Marriott

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

78 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

A number of anatomical and physiological factors determine the pharmacokinetic profile of a drug. Differences in physiology in paediatric populations compared with adults can influence the concentration of drug within the plasma or tissue. Healthcare professionals need to be aware of anatomical and physiological changes that affect pharmacokinetic profiles of drugs to understand consequences of dose adjustments in infants and children. Pharmacokinetic clinical trials in children are complicated owing to the limitations on blood sample volumes and perception of pain in children resulting from blood sampling. There are alternative sampling techniques that can minimize the invasive nature of such trials. Population based models can also limit the sampling required from each individual by increasing the overall sample size to generate robust pharmacokinetic data. This review details key considerations in the design and development of paediatric pharmacokinetic clinical trials.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)395-404
Number of pages10
JournalBritish Journal of Clinical Pharmacology
Volume79
Issue number3
Early online date28 Oct 2013
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Mar 2015

Keywords

  • absorption
  • biopharmaceutics
  • clinical trial
  • paediatric
  • paediatric drug development
  • pharmacokinetics

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Pharmacology (medical)
  • Pharmacology

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