[Clinical efficiency in children treated with intravenous drip infusion of peramivir].

The clinical effect of peramivir was examined retrospectively in 30 children aged 23 days to 8 years; they had been treated with peramivir at our hospital within 48 hours after the onset of influenza from November 2010 to April 2011. Intravenous dripping of peramivir at a dose of 10 mg/kg was performed only once for 15 to 30 minutes. To examine the clinical effect of peramivir, the time from dosing to defervescence (body temperature <37.5 degrees C) was evaluated. To compare the clinical effects of peramivir and oseltamivir, the time required for the defervescence was evaluated in a similar manner in 30 children aged 7 months to 8 years who had been treated for influenza with oseltamivir at a dose of 4 mg/kg/day. The influenza type was type A (n=25) and type B (n=5) in the peramivir group and type A (n=26) and type B (n=4) in the oseltamivir group. In the peramivir group, 5 (16.7%), 16 (53.3%), and 24 (80.0%) patients achieved defervescence within 6, 12, and 24 hours, respectively. In the oseltamivir group, 3 (10.0%) and 6 (20.0%) patients had defervescence within 12 and 24 hours, respectively. The difference between these groups was statistically significant (p<0.05). An increase in the levels of AST and ALT was observed as an adverse reaction in 1 patient. Thus, peramivir was determined to be effective to influenza in children.