Determining drug dosages by height: applying a model made for coastal children in Papua New Guinea to children from the highlands.

A height scale for the determination of drug dosages in children of the Madang area was applied to children from the Nipa area of the Papua New Guinea highlands. In only 13 out of 1314 children (1.0%) did the use of the height scale result in drug doses below the recommended minimum dose per kilogram of bodyweight. The scale can therefore be used safely for highlands children in areas where facilities for accurate weighing are not available.