PHARMACOKINETICS OF A CLARITHROMYCIN SUSPENSION IN INFANTS AND CHILDREN

The single- and multiple-dose pharmacokinetics of clarithromycin and its 14-(R)-hydroxylated metabolite infants and children were studied after oral administration under fasting and nonfasting conditions. Drug absorption appeared to be rapid following a brief delay in its onset; the mean peak concentrations in plasma (C(max)) for clarithromycin were reached within about 3 h under both conditions. The mean C(max) for the parent drug were 3.59 and 4.58 mug/ml in single-dose fasting and nonfasting patients, and the respective C(max) for the metabolite were 1.19 and 1.26 mug/ml. Data indicate good absorption and no significant effects by food. There was no unusual accumulation in the area under the concentration-time curve and C(max) in the multiple-dose group.