• Bonifasius S Singu, Prisca Akpabio, and Roger K Verbeeck.
• School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences & Veterinary Medicine, University of Namibia.
• Afr Health Sci. 2022 Sep 1; 22 (3): 436441436-441.

BackgroundWorld Health Organization (WHO) advocates use of weight bands in antiretroviral therapy (ART) guidelines. Allometric scaling could be a more reliable method because it uses a non-linear approach in relating dose to body weight. This study evaluates performance of the allometric ¾ power model in comparison to WHO weight band method in children receiving ART.MethodsRecords of children receiving (ABC/3TC) + DTG were reviewed. Paediatric ABC/3TC dose was calculated from the adult dose using the allometric ¾ power model and compared to WHO weight band dose.ResultsWHO weight band strategy grouped 50.6% of the children in the 25 kg category and therefore received the adult dose of ABC/3TC (600 mg/300 mg); only 1.1% received this dose with allometric scaling. Mean dose (3.8 tablets) for the WHO weight band dosing method was found to be significantly higher (p<0.0001) than for allometric scaling (1.5 tablets).ConclusionsWHO weight bands may result in the 25 kg weight category receiving a much higher dose leading to ADRs. Using allometric scaling, we recommend a weight band strategy that could improve paediatric ABC/3TC dosing.© 2022 Singu BS et al.

17 keywords...

hide…