Pediatric antibiotic dose calculator
Weight-based doses for every antibiotic in PediaRx — oral suspensions, tablets and hospital injections — with maximum doses, age limits and the source for each regimen. Open a drug to calculate the exact volume for your patient.
Antibiotic doses at a glance
- Amoxicillin15–30 mg/kg/dose · every 8 hours · max 500 mg/dose
- Amoxicillin–clavulanate25 mg/kg/day in 2 divided doses
- Azithromycin10 mg/kg/dose · once daily · max 500 mg/dose
- Cefixime8 mg/kg/day in 2 divided doses · max 200 mg/dose, 400 mg/day
- Cefpodoxime10 mg/kg/day in 2 divided doses · max 200 mg/dose, 400 mg/day
- Cephalexin6.25–25 mg/kg/dose · every 6 hours · max 500 mg/dose
- Cefuroxime10–15 mg/kg/dose · every 12 hours with food · max 250 mg/dose
- Ceftriaxone50–80 mg/kg/dose · once daily (IV over 30 min or IM) · max 2 g/dose
- Cefotaxime<7 days: 50 mg/kg/dose · every 12 hours; 7 days to 28 days: 50 mg/kg/dose · every 8 hours; >28 days: 50 mg/kg/dose …
- Metronidazole10–15 mg/kg/dose · every 8 hours with food · max 800 mg/dose
- Co-trimoxazole (trimethoprim–sulfamethoxazole)8 mg/kg/day in 2 divided doses · max 160 mg/dose
- Ciprofloxacin15 mg/kg/dose · every 12 hours · max 500 mg/dose
- Ofloxacin7.5–10 mg/kg/dose · every 12 hours · max 400 mg/dose
- Doxycycline2.2 mg/kg/dose · every 12 hours · max 100 mg/dose
- Flucloxacillin12.5–25 mg/kg/dose · every 6 hours, 1 hour before food · max 500 mg/dose
- Clarithromycin7.5 mg/kg/dose · every 12 hours · max 500 mg/dose
- Nitrofurantoin<12 years: 1.25–1.75 mg/kg/dose · four times daily with food or milk · max 100 mg/dose; ≥12 years: 50 mg per dose …
Choosing and dosing antibiotics in children
Dose on the child's measured weight, check the maximum single and daily dose, and confirm the strength printed on the bottle — suspensions of the same drug come in several strengths. Combination products such as amoxicillin–clavulanate and co-trimoxazole are dosed on one named ingredient, never on the combined strength.
Hospital-only injections (ceftriaxone, cefotaxime, IV paracetamol and others) are shown with the volume to draw up and are labelled for supervised use. Aminoglycosides are intentionally not calculated.
