Arti R Thakkar
Eshelman School of Pharmacy, USA
Title: Pediatric Population a Miniature Adult – A Delusion?
Biography
Biography: Arti R Thakkar
Abstract
Pediatric population represents a changing and dynamic population due to the ontogenetic changes that occur during their development. As it has been observed that pediatrics does not deal with miniature adults, with reduced doses, but has its own independent range and horizon. So prescribing the medication for pediatric population is a unique challenge as their anatomy and physiology is completely different from adults. In particular, age-related changes in gastrointestinal (GI) physiology (transit time, pH, GI fluid composition, specifically bile salt concentrations) and in intestinal/hepatic drug metabolizing enzymes, as well as formulation parameters (dose volume, solubility) can contribute to differential absorption of orally administered drugs in children versus adults. For example, oral bioavailability of the potent antifungal lipophilic drug, voriconazole, in children (2-10 years) is almost half that in adults (45-65% versus 96%). The present study describes the facts and current scenario in formulation development aspects for pediatric populations and determining various factors responsible for variable bioavailability of pediatric medicaments in children. Absorptive transport of pediatric drugs was measured across intestinal tissue using Ussing-type diffusion chamber as a function of Fasted-State Simulated Intestinal Fluid (FaSSIF) with variable bile salt concentration. Dissolutions studies were determined of the model drugs as a function of volume and media with variable bile salt concentrations. It was found that dissolution and absorptive transport of model drugs has reduced rate of dissolution and variable absorptive transport. Thus, normalization of the adult dose may lead to poor and unsafe estimates of the pediatric dose.