Fexofenadine (Allegra) Dosing for a 2-Year-Old Child
For a 2-year-old child, the recommended dose of fexofenadine (Allegra) is 15 mg twice daily. 1
Dosing Guidelines Based on Age and Weight
- For children aged 6 months to 2 years, fexofenadine 15 mg twice daily has been established as safe and well-tolerated in clinical trials 1
- For children 2 years and older but weighing less than 15 kg, the recommended dose is 30 mg twice daily 2
- For children weighing 15-23 kg, the recommended dose is 45 mg twice daily 2
- For children weighing 23-40 kg, the recommended dose is 60 mg twice daily 2
Safety Profile in Young Children
- Clinical studies have shown that fexofenadine is well-tolerated in children as young as 6 months of age 1
- In studies of children aged 6 months to 2 years, the incidence of treatment-emergent adverse events with fexofenadine 15 mg twice daily (40.0%) was actually lower than with placebo (48.2%) 1
- Vomiting was the most commonly reported side effect in young children (14.1% with 15 mg dose) 1
- No clinically significant changes in vital signs, electrocardiographic results, or physical examination findings were observed with fexofenadine treatment in young children 1
Administration Considerations
- An oral suspension formulation (6 mg/mL) is available to ease administration to young children 3
- The suspension formulation may improve treatment compliance in young children 3
- For a 2-year-old child, a 15 mg twice daily dose would correspond to 2.5 mL of the suspension (6 mg/mL) twice daily 3
Pharmacokinetic Considerations
- In children aged 2-5 years, a 30 mg dose of fexofenadine suspension produces similar drug exposure as seen with a 30 mg dose in children aged 6-11 years 3
- Fexofenadine has a rapid onset of action (≤2 hours) and long duration, making twice daily dosing appropriate 4
- Fexofenadine does not cross the blood-brain barrier, which minimizes sedative effects even at higher doses 5
Safety Advantages
- Unlike some other antihistamines, fexofenadine is non-sedating, showing no dose-related increase in sedation 5
- Fexofenadine does not inhibit cardiac K+ channels and is not associated with QT interval prolongation 4
- The most common adverse event in clinical trials was headache, which occurred at a similar rate to placebo 4