Child and adolescent nortriptyline single dose pharmacokinetic parameters: final report.

This is the final report of a study of single dose pharmacokinetic parameters of nortriptyline in children and adolescents 5 to 16 years old (N = 64). The data were analyzed separately for the 5- to 12-year-olds (N = 41) and for the 13- to 16-year-olds (N = 32). The results confirm the preliminary findings of the similarity of the pharmacology of nortriptyline between the pediatric and adult age groups with respect to a logarithmically linear rate of elimination and a wide interindividual rate of metabolism. The 5- to 12-year-olds had a significantly shorter mean half-life and a significantly greater mean apparent oral clearance than the 13- to 16-year-olds. The mean half-life in the 5- to 12-year-olds was 20.8 +/- 7.2 (range, 11.2 to 42.5) hours and in the 13- to 16-year-olds was 31.1 +/- 19.8 (range, 14.2 to 89.4) hours. A twice a day dosage regimen is recommended for the entire 5- to 16-year-old group based on their range of half-lives.