CHOLECALCIFEROL
Formoral.liquid
50,000 IU of vitamin D weekly for six weeks, then maintenance at 400-600 IU daily (U.S. Endocrine Society, as reported in the disease article) x 2-3 months intensive, then daily maintenance
(Daily oral treatment (disease article): infants < 1 month 1000 IU; 1-12 months 1000-5000 IU; > 12 months 5000 IU - each once daily for 2-3 months. Maintenance after that is 400 IU daily. The article prefers the oral route because it restores vitamin D faster.)
| Under 1 month: | 1000 IU once daily for 2 to 3 months, then 400 IU daily |
|---|---|
| 1 to 12 months: | 1000 to 5000 IU once daily for 2 to 3 months, then 400 IU daily |
| Over 12 months: | 5000 IU once daily for 2 to 3 months, then 400 IU daily |
Nutritional rickets - disease-level clinical article (nutritional-rickets-full.txt)
Indication and dose come from the same disease-level article, which states both. The intensive phase runs two to three months and is given together with calcium. The daily amounts by age: under 1 month, 1000 IU; 1-12 months, 1000 to 5000 IU; over 12 months, 5000 IU - each for 2-3 months. Named Cholecalciferol because that is the Egyptian register's spelling - it resolves 65 oral-liquid products, while Colecalciferol (the MSF/INN spelling) resolves none.
- GIVE CALCIUM WITH IT. The intensive stretch of vitamin D treatment runs two to three months, and alongside it goes calcium - 500 mg, from food or from a supplement - for any child whose diet does not supply enough. Vitamin D alone can precipitate hypocalcaemia as bone remineralises.
- MSF Essential Drugs 2024 gives lower figures for the same treatment. Under 3 months: 2 000 IU daily, for 3 months. Age 3 months and over, but under 12 months: give 2 000 IU daily for 3 months - or a single 50 000 IU dose. Age 12 months and over, but under 12 years: give 3 000 to 6 000 IU daily for 3 months - or a single 150 000 IU dose. The two documents disagree on the >12-month daily figure (5000 IU vs 3000-6000 IU, which overlaps) and on the under-1-month figure (1000 IU vs 2000 IU). Either schedule is sourced; do not average them.
- SINGLE HIGH-DOSE (stoss) therapy exists but is not a routine clinic dose: 100,000 to 600,000 IU (international units), given by mouth or into muscle, in an infant older than 1 month. (Rickets - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf, NBK562285) Not for infants under 1 month.
- MSF ceiling: do NOT go above 600 000 IU in a year.
- Contra-indications (MSF): do NOT give it where there is hypercalcaemia, hypercalciuria, calcic lithiasis, or severe renal impairment.
- MSF: STOP the treatment where signs of overdose appear - headache, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, thirst that has increased, passing a lot of urine. And do NOT combine it with a thiazide diuretic.
- MONITOR - measure a random urine calcium-to-creatinine ratio, to see whether the calcium in the urine is rising, to pick up hypercalciuria, and so to head off nephrocalcinosis. MSF adds that the calcium in blood and in urine should be watched where it can be, while the curative course runs.
- PREVENTION, which is the point in Cairo: rickets is preventable by giving every infant vitamin D by mouth, 400 IU a day, through the first year of life - to any breastfed baby, and to any baby taking under 500 mL of fortified formula a day.
- The number of IU per drop differs between Egyptian brands. MSF notes that how many IU a drop of the oral solution holds depends on the manufacturer, and asks you to read the instructions. Read the specific bottle before counting drops.
| Egyptian brand | Manufacturer | Indicative price |
|---|---|---|
| UR-D 200 I.U./ML ORAL DROPS 25 ML | HI-PHARM | 21.60 EGP |
| D3 BOX DROPS 15 ML | ORGANIX INDUSTRY > MEDI CURE | 22.00 EGP |
| VIDROP 2800 I.U./ML ORAL DROPS 15 ML | MUP | 26.00 EGP |
| ONEFEROL BONE 2800 I.U./ML ORAL DROPS 30 ML | PHARMAZAD > PHARMA ONE | 46.00 EGP |
| CHILDAL ORAL DROPS 30 ML | BRAND PHARMA > MASTER PHARMA | 60.00 EGP |
| CHOLETRIX-D3 400 IU ORAL DROPS 30ML | COPAD EGYPT > IBM PHARMA | 75.00 EGP |
| VITAMIN D 2000IU 30ML ORAL DROPS | ORGANIX > SOUL PHARMA | 165.00 EGP |
| KIDDO 3 ORAL DROPS 10 ML | PRO-BIO PHARMA > | 300.00 EGP |
| D3-TAG 1000 IU/ML ORAL DROPS 30ML? strength differs? different route - not oral liquid | > TAG PHARMA | 27.00 EGP |
| PEDYANO D SYRUP15ML? strength differs? different route - not oral liquid | ORGANIX > PEDIA PHARM | 35.00 EGP |