Amoxicillin Pediatric Dose Calculator
Determines dosage for infants and children, based on weight or common infections indications.
Refer to the text below the tool for more information about determining pediatric amoxicillin dosage.
Amoxicillin is a penicillin antibiotic recommended in treating different types of bacterial infection (e.g. tonsillitis, AOM, bronchitis, UTIs, pneumonia, bronchitis).
Common pediatric formulations include liquid, tablet or capsule for oral dosage.
General guidelines for amoxicillin dosage for children 1 month – 18 years are: 15 - 30mg/kg, to a maximum of 1,000mg; three times daily, however please seek advice from qualified personnel.
In case of strep A dosing – dosing depends on child’s body weight:
- Under 15 kg – 50 mg/kg, once daily for 10 days;
- 15- 29.9 kg – 750 mg, once daily for 10 days;
- 30 kg or over – 1,000 mg, once daily for 10 days.
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Pediatric Amoxicillin Dosage Explained
Amoxicillin is a penicillin antibiotic recommended in treating different types of bacterial infection (e.g. tonsillitis, AOM, bronchitis, UTIs, pneumonia, bronchitis). Common pediatric formulations include liquid, tablet or capsule for oral dosage.
General guidelines for amoxicillin dosage for children 1 month – 18 years are: 15 - 30mg/kg, to a maximum of 1,000mg; three times daily.
In case of strep A dosing – dosing depends on child’s body weight:
- Under 15 kg – 50 mg/kg, once daily for 10 days;
- 15- 29.9 kg – 750 mg, once daily for 10 days;
- 30 kg or over – 1,000 mg, once daily for 10 days.
Condition | Indication | Dose | Divided |
Acute otitis media (AOM) | Any age + severe sx | 80-90 mg/kg/day To a max of 4 g/day |
q8h x 10 days |
2mo - 2yo | q12h x 10 days | ||
q8h x 10 days | |||
2-5yo | q12h x 7 days | ||
q8h x 7 days | |||
≥6yo | q12h x 5-7 days | ||
q8h x 5-7 days | |||
Pneumonia | ≥3mo | 90 mg/kg/day To a max of 4 g/day |
q8h x 7-10 days |
Acute bacterial rhinosinusitis | Low-dose ≥2yo | 45 mg/kg/day To a max of 4 g/day |
q12h x 5-10 days |
High-dose ≥2yo | 80-90 mg/kg/day To a max of 4 g/day |
q8h x 7-10 days | |
Group A streptococcal tonsillopharyngitis | 3-18yo | 50 mg/kg/day To a max of 1 g/day |
q12h x 10 days |
Urinary tract infection (UTI) | Any age | 40 mg/kg/day To a max of 1.5 g/day |
q8h x 7 days |
Pediatric doses are often expressed as mg/kg/day (similar to mg/kg) or mg/kg/dose and accompanied by a frequency of administration that can vary from once daily to every hour.
The daily dose is then multiplied by the infant or child’s weight in kilograms to obtain the daily dose. This value in mg is then divided by the frequency to determine each individual dose in mg.
Child dose by weight = (mg/day) = Adult Dose in mg/kg or mg/kg/day x Child Weight in kg
Some indications require one daily administration (qD), others require two doses a day (BID), three doses (TID) or four doses (QID).
Other indications may specify the time difference in hours, between two subsequent doses, for example administration every 4 hours (q4 hr) means the daily dose must be divided into 6 individual doses.
References
Gerald MC, O’Bannon FV. Nursing pharmacology and therapeutics. (2nd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall Incorporated, 1988.
High dose amoxicillin: Rationale for use in otitis media treatment failures. Paediatr Child Health. 1999; 4(5):321-3.
Rann O, Sharland M, Long P, Wong ICK, Laverty AA, Bottle A, Barker CI, Bielicki J, Saxena S. Did the accuracy of oral amoxicillin dosing of children improve after British National Formulary dose revisions in 2014? National cross-sectional survey in England. BMJ Open. 2017; 7(9):e016363.
Specialty: Pharmacology
Article By: Denise Nedea
Published On: July 22, 2020 · 12:00 AM
Last Checked: July 22, 2020
Next Review: July 22, 2025