From the Guidelines
Clindamycin dosage should be 300-400 mg every 6 hours orally for adults with serious infections, and 20-40 mg/kg/day divided into 3-4 equal doses orally for children. The dosage of clindamycin varies based on the type of infection being treated and the patient's age and weight. For adults with serious infections, the typical oral dose ranges from 150-450 mg every 6 hours, while severe infections may require 300-450 mg every 6 hours 1. For children, the recommended oral dosage is 8-25 mg/kg/day divided into 3-4 equal doses. When administered intravenously, adults typically receive 600-2700 mg daily divided into 2-4 doses, while children receive 20-40 mg/kg/day divided into 3-4 doses.
- Key considerations for clindamycin dosage include:
- Type of infection being treated
- Patient's age and weight
- Severity of the infection
- Route of administration (oral or intravenous)
- Treatment duration generally ranges from 7-14 days depending on infection severity, and should continue for at least 48 hours after symptoms resolve.
- Clindamycin works by inhibiting bacterial protein synthesis, making it effective against many gram-positive aerobic bacteria and anaerobes.
- Common side effects include diarrhea, nausea, and abdominal pain, with Clostridioides difficile-associated diarrhea being a serious potential complication.
- Taking oral clindamycin with a full glass of water and monitoring for severe diarrhea are important precautions during treatment. The most recent and highest quality study, published in 2014, provides the most up-to-date guidance on clindamycin dosage 1.
From the FDA Drug Label
Adults: Serious infections – 150 to 300 mg every 6 hours. More severe infections – 300 to 450 mg every 6 hours Pediatric Patients (for children who are able to swallow capsules): Serious infections – 8 to 16 mg/kg/day (4 to 8 mg/lb/day) divided into three or four equal doses. More severe infections – 16 to 20 mg/kg/day (8 to 10 mg/lb/day) divided into three or four equal doses.
The recommended dosage of clindamycin is:
- For adults:
- Serious infections: 150 to 300 mg every 6 hours
- More severe infections: 300 to 450 mg every 6 hours
- For pediatric patients who can swallow capsules:
- Serious infections: 8 to 16 mg/kg/day divided into three or four equal doses
- More severe infections: 16 to 20 mg/kg/day divided into three or four equal doses 2
From the Research
Clindamycin Dosage
- The provided studies do not directly address the dosage of clindamycin 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.
- However, one study compares the safety of clindamycin plus vancomycin versus linezolid as empiric treatment of necrotizing soft tissue infections, but it does not provide information on the dosage of clindamycin used in the study 5.
- The other studies focus on the use of linezolid and vancomycin in patients with renal impairment, and do not mention clindamycin dosage 3, 4, 6, 7.
Related Studies
- A study on the impact of vancomycin or linezolid therapy on development of renal dysfunction and thrombocytopenia in Japanese patients found that vancomycin and linezolid therapies are associated with renal dysfunction and thrombocytopenia, respectively 4.
- Another study on the impact of administration of vancomycin or linezolid to critically ill patients with impaired renal function found that renal function improved in patients treated with linezolid, and that vancomycin should be avoided in critically ill patients with acute renal failure 6.
- A study comparing the clinical efficacy and safety of 600 mg of fixed-dose linezolid with intermittent dose-optimized vancomycin in hospital-acquired pneumonia due to MRSA found that 600 mg of fixed-dose linezolid is an ideal alternative to intermittent dose-optimized vancomycin for better clinical outcomes for patients with hospital-acquired pneumonia due to MRSA, especially for patients with renal impairment 7.