Adults
The dosage and duration of therapy shall be established depending on type and severity of infection and the condition of the patient.
The recommended daily dosage is as follows:-
- 500 mg every 8 hours in treatment of pneumonia, UTI, gynecological infections such as endometritis, skin and skin structure infections.
- 1 g every 8 hours in treatment of nosocomial pneumonia, peritonitis, presumed infections in neutropenic patients and septicaemia.
- In meningitis the recommended dosage is 2g every 8 hours.
Use in Adults with Renal Impairment
Dosage should be reduced in patients with creatinine clearance less than 51 mL/min.
When only serum creatinine is available, the following formula (Cockcroft and Gault equation) may be used to estimate creatinine clearance.
Males: Creatinine Clearance (mL/min) = Weight (kg) x (140 - age)
72 x serum creatinine (mg/dL)
Females: 0.85 x above value
Recommended MEROCRIT I.V. Dosage Schedule
for Adults With Impaired Renal Function |
Creatinine Clearance (mL/min) |
Dose (based on unit doses of 500 mg, 1g, 2 g) |
Dosing Interval |
26-50 |
One unit dose |
Every 12 hours |
10-25 |
One-half unit dose |
Every 12 hours |
<10 |
One-half unit dose |
Every 24 hours |
Meropenem is cleared by haemodialysis; if continued treatment with meropenem is necessary, it is recommended that the unit dose (based on the type and severity of infection) is administered at the completion of the haemodialysis procedure to restore therapeutically effective plasma concentration.
There is no experience with peritoneal dialysis.
Paediatric use
For paediatric patients from 3 months of age and older, the MEROCRIT I.V. dose is 10, 20 mg/kg every 8 hours (maximum dose is 2 g every 8 hours), depending on the type of infection. Paediatric patients weighing over 50 kg should be administered adult MEROCRIT I.V. dose.
In meningitis the recommended dose is 40 mg/kg every 8 hours.
There is no experience in children with renal impairment.
Method of Administration
MEROCRIT I.V. can be given as an intravenous bolus injection over approximately 5 minutes or by intravenous infusion over approximately 15 to 30 minutes using the specific available diluents.
Preparation of solution:
Intravenous Bolus Administration
Constitute injection vials (125 mg, 250 mg, 500 mg and 1 g) with sterile water for injection. Shake to dissolve. Constituted solutions are clear, and colorless or pale yellow.
Vial Size |
Amount of Diluent Added (mL) |
Approximate Withdrawable Volume (mL) |
Approximate Average Concentration (mg/mL) |
125 mg |
2.5 |
2.5 |
50 |
250 mg |
5 |
5 |
50 |
500 mg |
10 |
10 |
50 |
1 g |
20 |
20 |
50 |
Intravenous Infusion Administration
MEROCRIT I.V. for intravenous infusion may be constituted with compatible infusion fluids (50 to 200 mL). Alternatively, an injection vial may be constituted, then the resulting solution added to an I.V. container and further diluted with an appropriate infusion fluid. After reconstitution with 0.9% NaCl solution and sterile water for injection, MEROCRIT I.V. is stable at room temperature for 8 hrs and under refrigerator for 18 hrs.
Solutions of intravenous meropenem I.V. should not be frozen. |
