Drug therapy in young and old people

Abstract Paediatricians tell us that neonates, infants, and children are not just small adults, and that is certainly true of the ways in which they absorb, distribute, eliminate, and respond to drugs. Although some dosage schedules for children have already been determined by clinical trial or experience, many are based on some formula relating the body weight, age, or body surface area of the child to the adult dose. Probably the best way to scale down dosages from adult dosages is in proportion to the body surface area:Dose = (patient’s body surface area/adult body surface area) adult dose.