• CDC recommends pediatric influenza antiviral treatment for those at higher risk for influenza complications, and include the following:

1. less than 2 years of age;
2. chronic diseases including: pulmonary (ie asthma), cardiovascular (except hypertension alone), renal, hepatic, hematologic (ie sickle cell disease), metabolic (ie diabetes), neurologic/neurodevelopmental (ie cerebral palsy, epilepsy), and intellectual disability (ie mental retardation)
3. immunosuppression (ie HIV)
4. less than 19 years of age and on chronic aspirin treatment;
5. morbid obesity (BMI>40)

• adamantanes (amantadine and rimantadine) should not be used due to high levels of resistance to influenza A
• neuraminadase inhibitors (oseltamivir and zanamivir) should be started within 48 hours of illness onset to reduce the duration and severity of disease
• oseltamivir can be used in children as young as 2 weeks of age at a dose of 3mg/kg twice daily for 5 days.

 

References

CDC MMWR 1/2011

FDA 12/2012