Low levels of pyrazinamide and ethambutol in children with tuberculosis and impact of age, nutritional status, and human immunodeficiency virus infection

Abstract

Recent pharmacokinetic studies that included children found that serum drug levels were low compared to those of adults for whom the same dosages were used. This study aimed to characterize the pharmacokinetics of pyrazinamide and ethambutol in Malawian children and to examine the impact of age, nutritional status, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. We conducted a pharmacokinetic study of children treated for tuberculosis with thrice-weekly pyrazinamide (n = 27; mean age, 5.7 years) and of a separate group of children treated with thrice-weekly ethambutol (n = 18; mean age, 5.5 years) as portions of tablets according to national guidelines. Malnutrition and HIV infection were ..