Safety and single-dose pharmacokinetics of abacavir (1592U89) in human immunodeficiency virus type 1-infected children

Walter Hughes, James A. McDowell*, Jerry Shenep, Patricia Flynn, Mark W. Kline, Ram Yogev, William Symonds, Yu Lou, Seth Hetherington

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

54 Scopus citations

Abstract

Abacavir (formerly 1592U89) is a potent 2'-deoxyguanosine analog reverse transcriptase inhibitor that has been demonstrated to have a favorable safety profile in initial clinical trials with adults with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 1 infection. A phase I study was conducted to evaluate the pharmacokinetics and safety of abacavir following the administration of two single oral doses (4 and 8 mg/kg of body weight) to 22 HIV-infected children ages 3 months to 13 years. Plasma was collected for analysis at predose and at 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 5, and 8 h after the administration of each dose. Plasma abacavir concentrations were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography, and data were analyzed by noncompartmental methods. Abacavir was well tolerated by all subjects. The single abacavir-related adverse event was rash, which occurred in 2 of 22 subjects. After administration of the oral solution, abacavir was rapidly absorbed, with the time to the peak concentration in plasma occurring within 1.5 h postdosing. Pharmacokinetic parameter estimates were comparable among the different age groups for each dose level. The mean maximum concentration in plasma (C(max)) and the mean area under the curve from time zero to infinity (AUC(0-∞)) increased by 16 and 45% more than predicted, respectively, as the abacavir dose was doubled from 4 to 8 mg/kg (C(max) increased from 1.69 to 3.94 μg/ml, and AUC(0-∞) increased from 2.82 to 8.09 μg · h/ml). Abacavir was rapidly eliminated, with a mean elimination half-life of 0.98 to 1.13 h. The mean apparent clearance from plasma decreased from 27.35 to 18.88 ml/min/kg as the dose increased. Neither body surface area nor creatinine clearance were correlated with pharmacokinetic estimates at either dose. The extent of exposure to abacavir appears to be slightly lower in children than in adults, with the comparable unit doses being based on body weight. In conclusion, this study showed that abacavir is safe and well tolerated in children when it is administered as a single oral dose of 4 or 8 mg/kg.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)609-615
Number of pages7
JournalAntimicrobial agents and chemotherapy
Volume43
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 1999

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Pharmacology (medical)
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Pharmacology

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