Green Pages Where There Is No Doctor 2011 361
Rifampicin can affect the way ART works for
a person with HIV. Talk to an experienced health
worker.
Dosage of rifampicin for TB (10 mg./kg./day): using
tablets or capsules of 150 mg. or 300 mg.
Give rifampicin once a day, either 1 hour before
or 2 hours after eating.
In each dose give:
adults: 600 mg. (two 300 mg. tablets or four
150 mg, tablets)
children 8 to 12 years: 450 mg.
children 3 to 7 years: 300 mg.
children under 3 years: 150 mg.
Pyrazinamide
Name: _________________ price:________ for_ ______
Often comes in: tablets of 400 mg.
Risks and Precautions:
Because there is not enough information about
how pyrazinamide affects pregnancy, pregnant
women should use it only in areas where there is
resistance to isoniazid. Talk to an experienced health
worker.
Side effects: May cause swollen and painful
joints, loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting, painful
urination, fatigue, and fever.
Dosage for pyrazinamide (25 mg./kg./day): using
tablets of 400 mg.
Give 1 dose daily, together with other TB
medicines. In each dose give:
adults: 1600 or 2000 mg. (4 or 5 tablets)
children 8 to 12 years: 800 mg. (2 tablets)
children 3 to 7 years: 400 mg. (1 tablet)
children under 3 years: 200 mg. (½ tablet)
Ethambutol (familiar brand name: Myambutol)
Name:__________________ price:________ for_ ______
Often comes in: tablets of 100 or 400 mg.
Risks and Precautions:
Ethambutol may cause eye pain or damage
if taken in large doses for a long time. The
medicine should be stopped if eye problems or
vision changes develop. Eye damage caused by
ethambutol usually slowly gets better after the
medicine is stopped.
Dosage of ethambutol (15 mg./kg./day for adults;
15–25 mg./kg./day for children): using tablets of
100 mg. or 400 mg.
Give once a day.
In each dose give:
adults: 1200 mg. (three 400 mg. tablets or
twelve 100 mg. tablets)
children: Give 20 mg. for each kg. the child
weighs. But for tubercular meningitis give
25 mg. for each kg. the child weighs.
Streptomycin
Name:__________________ price:________ for_ ______
Often comes in:
vials for injection with 1 g. in each vial.
Streptomycin is still a very useful medicine for
treating tuberculosis.
Risks and Precautions:
Great care must be taken not to give more than
the correct dose. Too much streptomycin for too
long may cause deafness. If ringing of the ears or
deafness begins, stop taking the medicine and see
a health worker.
Streptomycin should not be taken by pregnant
women or persons with kidney problems.
Dosage for streptomycin (15 mg./kg./day): using
vials of liquid; or powder for mixing with water to give
1 g. of streptomycin in 2 ml.
For treatment of tuberculosis:
Give 1 injection daily for 8 weeks
With each injection give:
adults: 1 g. (or 2 ml.)
adults over age 50: 500 to 750 mg. (1 to
1 ½ ml.)
children 8 to 12 years: 750 mg. (1 ½ ml.)
children 3 to 7 years: 500 mg. (1 ml.)
children under 3 years: 250 mg. (½ ml.)
newborn babies: give 20 mg. for each kg.
of body weight; thus a 3 kg. baby gets
60 mg. (1⁄8 ml.)
Use of streptomycin for other than TB:
In emergencies, streptomycin and penicillin
together can be used to treat certain severe
infections (see PENICILLIN WITH STREPTOMYCIN,
p. 353). Streptomycin is also used to treat gonorrhea
(for dosage, see p. 359). However, the use of
streptomycin for infections other than tuberculosis
should be very limited, because frequent use of
streptomycin for other illnesses makes tuberculosis
resistant to it, and therefore harder to treat.