Appendix 1M
Azithromycin – off license information for under 16 year olds
The use of Azithromycin tablets/capsules to treat Chlamydia infection in children under 16
years of age
Patient information sheet to explain off-licence use.
What type of medicine is Azithromycin?
Azithromycin is an antibiotic or antibacterial medicine (a medicine that treats infections caused by
bacteria). It is a type of antibiotic called a Macrolide. Other Macrolide antibiotics include
erythromycin.
The treatment of chlamydia in children under 16 years of age with Azithromycin
Azithromycin is an antibiotic that can be used to treat infections in children, however the company
that make this medicine only carried out research on the treatment of chlamydia with clients over
16 years of age. Therefore the dose for the treatment of chlamydia for children under16 years of
age is not included in the product licence and product information for Azithromycin.
There have been other studies where a single dose of 1g Azithromycin has been used to treat
adolescents between the ages of 12 to 15 years diagnosed with Chlamydia and the guidelines in
the USA state that this dose can be given to children over the age of 8 years.
What if I don’t want to take Azithromycin?
Alternative treatment can be obtained from Genito-Urinary Medicine (GUM) clinics. The local clinic
is at Kingston hospital.
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Azithromycin – off-licence use patient information sheet
September 2009