Abstract: Bisphosphonates are gaining increasing attention in pediatrics, both for the treatment of acute hypercalcemia (most typically in malignancy), as well as in an expanding number of disorders associated with decreased bone mineral density. Most of the published experience with these drugs in children is with pamidronate. Zoledronic acid is a new, third generation bisphosphonate which has been suggested to be superior to pamidronate in adult patients. In this issue of The Journal, Högler and colleagues from several centers report the first substantial experience with this drug in children. As with pamidronate, hypocalcemia, hypophosphatemia, and “flu” like symptoms were common with zoledronic acid. As is the case with pamidronate, these effects were most marked with the first dose, were not serious, and were easy to manage. It remains to be seen whether the advantages of zoledronic acid are compelling enough to use this in place of pamidronate, a drug with which there is a substantial pediatric experience. Short-term safety assessment in the use of intravenous zoledronic acid in childrenThe Journal of PediatricsVol. 145Issue 5PreviewThe clinical side effects of the potent new bisphosphonate zoledronic acid in children are unknown. In this study of 34 children with various bone disorders, the frequency of postinfusion flu-like illness, hypocalcemia, and hypophosphatemia was 85%, 74%, and 82%, respectively. No renal side effects were detected after up to 3 consecutive infusions. Full-Text PDF
Publication Year: 2004
Publication Date: 2004-11-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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