3TC (lamivudine, Epivir) is approved for use by children aged over three months at a dose of 4mg/kg twice daily, up to a maximum of 300mg per day. It was licensed for children following demonstration that adding 3TC to AZT (zidovudine, Retrovir), ddI (didanosine, Videx) or a combination of AZT and ddI resulted in a reduced risk of disease progression and death, and reductions in viral load and increases in CD4 cell counts in children^[1][2]. Once-daily 3TC dosing may also be possible in children, although this is not an approved dosing regimen^[3].

3TC should be used with caution in children with a history of pancreatitis, risk factors for pancreatitis or a history of nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI) use.

Combivir and Kivexa are only approved for use in children over 12 years of age, while Trizivir is not approved for use in people below 18 years of age.