Drug | Age group | Dose | Duration and route of administration | Comments |
Preferred regimens | ||||
Rifampin | Infants age <1 month | 5 mg/kg/dose every 12 hours | 2 days (4 doses) of oral therapy |
|
Infants and children age ≥1 month | 10 mg/kg/dose (maximum: 600 mg) every 12 hours | 2 days (4 doses) of oral therapy | ||
Adults¶ | 600 mg every 12 hours | 2 days (4 doses) of oral therapy | ||
Ciprofloxacin | Infants and children age ≥1 month | 20 mg/kg (maximum 500 mg)Δ | Single oral dose |
|
Adults | 500 mg | Single oral dose | ||
Ceftriaxone | Children age <15 years | 125 mg | Single IM dose |
|
Adults and adolescents age ≥15 years | 250 mg | Single IM dose | ||
Alternative regimen (eg, if rifampin or ceftriaxone cannot be used in the setting of ciprofloxacin-resistant Neisseria meningitidis exposure) | ||||
Azithromycin | Infants and children | 10 mg/kg (maximum 500 mg) | Single oral dose |
|
Adults | 500 mg | Single oral dose |
IM: intramuscular.
* For additional information on drug interactions, refer to the drug interaction program within UpToDate.
¶ The decision to use rifampin during pregnancy must be determined on a case-by-case basis. CDC guidelines state that rifampin should be avoided for chemoprophylaxis in pregnancy. The drug is teratogenic in laboratory animals, and there have been rare reports of postnatal hemorrhages in the infant and mother when administered during the last few weeks of pregnancy. However, rifampin is routinely used for treatment of other infections during pregnancy (eg, tuberculosis).
Δ Although systemic fluoroquinolones are not routinely used as a first-line agent in children less than 18 years of age, it is reasonable to use a single dose of ciprofloxacin for chemoprophylaxis for meningococcal disease.Do you want to add Medilib to your home screen?