My son who weighs 43 lbs and is 8 was started on 250mg of augmentin 3x daily. He was on zithromax prior (started August). Does anyone have any research on dosages for children with pandas? our son was symptomatic in May 2010 but we have seen quite a reduction in tics since being on the abx. However, I would like to see more awareness and less emotional liability. Any suggestions or comments are welcomed. Thanks.
Pam --
Is this dose intended as a response to 1) a current infection, 2) an ongoing PANDAS treatment or 3) prophylactic?
I think if you look up 875 mg. Augmentin, 2x daily, you'll find it is probably adequate for treating certain infections, including strep. There's a lot of anecdotal information out there, though, that suggests that perhaps either the XR (time-related) formulation of Augmentin or Zithromax are more effective at treating PANDAS. It could be because regular Augmentin's half-life is quite short, whereas Zith's half-life is very long (something like 73 hours, if I recall correctly), and the time-released formulation of Augmentin (XR) would theoretically leave the drug active in the body longer than the regular form, also.
On the other hand, I understand that some find the regular Augmentin to be more effective against PANDAS, perhaps because it actually has a higher clavulanic acid component than the XR version.
Lots of bodies of thought, unfortunately, and none of them necessarily applicable in every case; all our kids seems to respond differently to medications. You might search here on the forum for "XR" or "zith" or "clavulanic acid" or similar terms to get a broader perspective on the topic.
Good luck!