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Review
. 2009 Dec;55(12):1199-201.

Use of oseltamivir in children

Blake Jamieson  1 , Rini Jain, Bruce Carleton, Ran D Goldman
Affiliations
Review

Use of oseltamivir in children

Blake Jamieson et al. Can Fam Physician. 2009 Dec.

Abstract
in English, French

Question: Because of the recent outbreak of pandemic H1N1 2009, I am anticipating a large number of children with influenza-like symptoms or children diagnosed with influenza. Is oseltamivir effective and safe when used for children?

Answer: Oseltamivir is effective for prevention of complications associated with influenza A (including H1N1) in children. Oseltamivir also reduces the duration of influenza by a median of 36 hours, with nausea and vomiting as the primary reported adverse effects. The World Health Organization recommends oseltamivir as first-line treatment for H1N1, with the use of zanamivir only for suspected or confirmed oseltamivir resistance. Recently, in preparation for the influenza A (H1N1) 2009 pandemic, Health Canada published an interim order permitting the expanded use of oseltamivir for treatment or prophylaxis for children younger than 1 year of age.

QUESTION En raison de la récente éclosion de la grippe pandémique H1N1 en 2009, je m’attends à voir un grand nombre d’enfants présentant des symptômes grippaux ou ayant eu un diagnostic de grippe. L’oseltamivir est-il efficace et sûr chez les enfants?

RÉPONSE L ’oseltamivir est efficace pour la prévention des complications associées à la grippe A (y compris H1N1) chez les enfants. L’oseltamivir réduit aussi la durée de la grippe d’environ 36 heures en moyenne et ses principaux effets secondaires signalés sont la nausée et les vomissements. L’Organisation mondiale de la Santé recommande l’oseltamivir comme traitement de première intention pour le H1N1, et l’utilisation du zanamivir seulement dans les cas soupçonnés ou confirmés de résistance à l’oseltamivir. Récemment, en prévision de la pandémie de grippe A (H1N1) en 2009, Santé Canada a publié une ordonnance provisoire permettant une utilisation plus élargie de l’oseltamivir pour le traitement ou la prévention chez les enfants de moins de 1 ans.

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