Neonatal pharmacology and clinical implications

Antonio Ruggiero; Anna Ariano; Silvia Triarico; Michele Antonio Capozza; Pietro Ferrara; Giorgio Attinà

doi:10.7573/dic.212608

Neonatal pharmacology and clinical implications

Drugs Context. 2019 Oct 14:8:212608. doi: 10.7573/dic.212608. eCollection 2019.

Authors

Antonio Ruggiero¹, Anna Ariano¹, Silvia Triarico¹, Michele Antonio Capozza¹, Pietro Ferrara², Giorgio Attinà¹

Affiliations

¹ Pediatric Oncology Unit, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.
² Institute of Pediatrics, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy; Institute of Pediatrics, Campus Bio-Medico University Medical School, Rome, Italy.

Abstract

During the neonatal period, there is physiological immaturity of organs, systems and metabolic pathways that influences the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of administered drugs, the dosage of which should be constantly amended, considering the progressive increase in weight and the maturation of the elimination pathways. In this article, we analyse the main pharmacokinetic aspects (absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion) that exist during the neonatal period, to offer a description of the physiological background for variability in pharmacological dosing.

Keywords: infant; newborn; pharmacology.

Publication types

Review