Skip to main content
PMC home page
Archives of Disease in Childhood logoLink to Archives of Disease in Childhood
. 1990 Sep;65(9):971–976. doi: 10.1136/adc.65.9.971

Pharmacokinetics of paracetamol after cardiac surgery.

C S Hopkins 1, S Underhill 1, P D Booker 1
PMCID: PMC1792115  PMID: 2221970

Abstract

Plasma concentration was measured after rectal and nasogastric administration of paracetamol 15 mg/kg to 28 febrile children aged between 9 days to 7 years who had undergone cardiac surgery. After equivalent doses, rectal administration in neonates and children on the first postoperative day was found to produce plasma concentrations below the therapeutic range with higher concentrations after nasogastric paracetamol on the second postoperative day. There was less variance in plasma paracetamol concentrations in neonates. Both plasma elimination half life and area under the plasma concentration time curve were significantly increased in neonates after suppository dosing compared with older children. There was no difference in antipyretic effect between the two routes of administration, but this was much lower than that previously reported in febrile children.

Full text

PDF
974

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Booker P. D. Postoperative analgesia for neonates? Anaesthesia. 1987 Apr;42(4):343–344. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2044.1987.tb03971.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Greene J. W., Craft L., Ghishan F. Acetaminophen poisoning in infancy. Am J Dis Child. 1983 Apr;137(4):386–387. doi: 10.1001/archpedi.1983.02140300064018. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Keinänen-Kiukaanniemi S., Similä S., Luoma P., Kangas L., Saukkonen A. L. Antipyretic effect and plasma concentrations of rectal acetaminophen and diazepam in children. Epilepsia. 1979 Dec;20(6):607–612. doi: 10.1111/j.1528-1157.1979.tb04844.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Keinänen S., Hietula M., Similä S., Kouvalainen K. Antipyretic therapy. Comparison of rectal and oral paracetamol. Eur J Clin Pharmacol. 1977 Aug 17;12(1):77–80. doi: 10.1007/BF00561410. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Lederman S., Fysh W. J., Tredger M., Gamsu H. R. Neonatal paracetamol poisoning: treatment by exchange transfusion. Arch Dis Child. 1983 Aug;58(8):631–633. doi: 10.1136/adc.58.8.631. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Levy G., Khanna N. N., Soda D. M., Tsuzuki O., Stern L. Pharmacokinetics of acetaminophen in the human neonate: formation of acetaminophen glucuronide and sulfate in relation to plasma bilirubin concentration and D-glucaric acid excretion. Pediatrics. 1975 Jun;55(6):818–825. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Miller R. P., Roberts R. J., Fischer L. J. Acetaminophen elimination kinetics in neonates, children, and adults. Clin Pharmacol Ther. 1976 Mar;19(3):284–294. doi: 10.1002/cpt1976193284. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Nahata M. C., Powell D. A., Durrell D. E., Miller M. A. Acetaminophen accumulation in pediatric patients after repeated therapeutic doses. Eur J Clin Pharmacol. 1984;27(1):57–59. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Rawlins M. D., Henderson D. B., Hijab A. R. Pharmacokinetics of paracetamol (acetaminophen) after intravenous and oral administration. Eur J Clin Pharmacol. 1977 Apr 20;11(4):283–286. doi: 10.1007/BF00607678. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Roberts I., Robinson M. J., Mughal M. Z., Ratcliffe J. G., Prescott L. F. Paracetamol metabolites in the neonate following maternal overdose. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 1984 Aug;18(2):201–206. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2125.1984.tb02453.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Rumack B. H. Aspirin versus acetaminophen: a comparative view. Pediatrics. 1978 Nov;62(5 Pt 2 Suppl):943–946. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Seideman P., Alván G., Andrews R. S., Labross A. Relative bioavailability of a paracetamol suppository. Eur J Clin Pharmacol. 1980 Jun;17(6):465–468. doi: 10.1007/BF00570165. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Vernon S., Bacon C., Weightman D. Rectal paracetamol in small children with fever. Arch Dis Child. 1979 Jun;54(6):469–470. doi: 10.1136/adc.54.6.469. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Warner A. Drug use in the neonate: interrelationships of pharmacokinetics, toxicity, and biochemical maturity. Clin Chem. 1986 May;32(5):721–727. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Archives of Disease in Childhood are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES