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A new study believes that it has demonstrated that small doses of Plavix (clopidogrel) can be beneficial to children under the age of two who have heart problems.

Dr. Jennifer Li, a pediatric cardiologist at Duke University Medical Centerm, recruited 92 children with various heart problems that put them at high risk for developing blood clots. The majority of the children in the study had hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a condition which has a poorly functioning small ventricle. Others had floppy or imperfect heart valves and one child had Kawasaki disease.

The children received either clopidogrel or a placebo. Those receiving the treatment of clopidogrel received one of four doses ranging in strength from .01 to .20 milligrams per kilogram of body weight. They received the treatment once a day for a period of one to four weeks. End results showed that for children up to 24 months, 0.2 milligrams was the optimal dose.

'We were astonished at how little of the drug they needed to reap the same benefits as adults. It was only about a fifth of the amount that we were expecting," stated Dr. Li. "The findings show that you can't simply extrapolate from what you do in adults and apply it to children."

Adults with a weight of 165 pounds would normally receive 75 milligrams per day of clopidogrel therefore if extrapolated the prediction would be that children would benefit from an optimal dosing of 2 milligrams per day for a child under 2.

[Source: HealthDay]