Gian Maria Pacifici

[ 1 ] - Clinical Pharmacology of the Antimalarial Chloroquine in Children and Their Mothers

Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium ovale, Plasmodium malariae, and Plasmodium knowlesi are the parasites that infect humans. Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax cause most of the malarial infections worldwide. Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium ovale, Plasmodium malariae, and Plasmodium knowlesi are susceptible to chloroquine. Chloroquine was the world's most widely used antim...

[ 2 ] - Clinical Pharmacology of the Antimalarial Quinine in Children

Quinine is the best studied drug for treating severe malaria in very young children. Quinine may be administered in pregnancy and, at therapeutic doses, malformations have not been reported. Some strains of quinine from Southeast Asia and South America have become resistant. Quinine is the treatment of choice for the drug-resistant severe Plasmodium falciparum. The antimalarial mechanism of qui...

[ 3 ] - Treatment of Malaria Parasitaemia in Infants and their Mothers

Malaria is an infection sustained by three parasites namely: Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax, and Plasmodium ovale. Plasmodium falciparum is the most common and virulent parasite. These parasites are present in different areas of the sub-Saharan African countries and Asia. In 2010, there were an estimated 219 million cases of malaria resulting in 660,000 deaths and, approximately, two-t...

[ 4 ] - Clinical Pharmacology of Ampicillin in Neonates and Infants: Effects and Pharmacokinetics

Ampicillin is a bactericidal antibiotic, it penetrates into the bacterial wall better than penicillin G and is active against gram-negative bacteria that are resistant to penicillin G. Ampicillin has a broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity and is the most widely used antibiotic for treating infections caused by Listeria, β-lactamase-negative Haemophilus, enterococci, Shigella, streptococci, Esc...

[ 5 ] - Clinical Pharmacology of Ceftriaxone in Neonates and Infants: Effects and Pharmacokinetics

Ceftriaxone is a versatile and useful "third-generation" cephalosporin that needs to be administered once-daily. Ceftriaxone is a β-lactamase-resistant cephalosporin. It is active against important gram-positive and most gram-negative bacteria. The MIC90s of ceftriaxone are 0.1 µg/ml for Escherichia coli, 0.1 µg/ml for Klebsiella species, 0.2 µg/ml for Proteus species, 0.3 µg/ml for Enterobacte...

[ 6 ] - Clinical Pharmacology of Ceftazidime in Neonates: Effects and Pharmacokinetics

Ceftazidime is a valuable third-generation bactericidal cephalosporin. Ceftazidime inhibits the biosynthesis of bacterial cell peptidoglycan, causing inhibition of bacterial growth or cell lyses and death. Common nosocomial gram-negative organisms susceptible to ceftazidime include Escherichia coli, Haemophilus influenzae, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Neisseria, Moraxella catarrhalis, Proteus mirabil...

[ 7 ] - Clinical Pharmacology of Cefepime in Infants and Children

Cefepime is a fourth-generation cephalosporin which is approved in Europe and in the USA. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves cefepime in the treatment of febrile neutropenia. Cefepime is active against gram-negative microorganisms such as Escherichia coli, Haemophilus influenzae, Enterobacter, Klebsiella, Morganella, Neisseria, Serratia, and Proteus species. Cefepime is also active aga...

[ 8 ] - Clinical Pharmacokinetics of Gentamicin in Neonates

Gentamicin is a bactericidal aminoglycoside antibiotic, it inhibits the protein synthesis. Gentamicin is active against the majority of aerobic gram-negative bacilli such as Pseudomonas, Klebsiella and Escherichia coli. The gentamicin doses are 3 mg/kg once-daily for preterm newborns < 35 weeks of gestation and 4 mg/kg once-daily for newborns > 35 weeks of gestation. The monitoring of gentamici...

[ 9 ] - The Effects and Pharmacokinetics of Acyclovir in Neonates

Acyclovir (9-[2-hydroxyethoxymethyl] guanine) is an acyclic nucleoside analogue of guanosine which is a potent and selective antiviral agent. Acycloviris converted to the monophosphate by thymidine kinase the virus-specific form of this enzyme and is subsequently converted to the triphosphate by the host cell kinase. Acyclovir triphosphate inhibits viral DNA-polymerase terminating the chain...

[ 10 ] - Clinical Pharmacology of Teicoplanin in Neonates: Effects and Pharmacokinetics

Teicoplanin is a glycoside antibiotic which consists of five closely related glycopeptide antibiotics with similar antibacterial properties to vancomycin that were first isolated in 1976. Teicoplanin is active against many gram-positive anaerobe microorganisms and is particularly potent against clostridium species. It is also active against most Listeria, enterococci and staphylococci including...