Dapsone Oral: Dosing, Duration, and Precautions
Dapsone guidance for pneumocystosis and toxoplasmosis prophylaxis, pneumocystosis treatment, and leprosy combination therapy.
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Source reviewed
October 2023
Guide category
Oral drugs
Safety boundary
Prescription medicine information for clinician-guided use.
Kenza Health Hub presents this medicine page as structured health education. Check dose, route, interactions, pregnancy or breast-feeding considerations, and local protocol with a qualified clinician or pharmacist. Read our medical editorial policy.
Therapeutic action
Sulfone antibacterial, antileprotic.
Indications
Due to the numerous and potentially severe adverse effects of dapsone, patients should be kept under close surveillance.
- Prophylaxis of toxoplasmosis and pneumocystosis, in combination with pyrimethamine and folinic acid.
- Treatment of pneumocystosis, in combination with trimethoprim.
- Paucibacillary and multibacillary leprosy, in combination with rifampicin and clofazimine.
Forms and strengths
- 50 mg and 100 mg tablets.
Dose
Prophylaxis of pneumocystosis only
- Child: 2 mg/kg once daily, maximum 100 mg daily.
- Adult: 100 mg once daily.
Prophylaxis of toxoplasmosis and pneumocystosis
- Child: 2 mg/kg once daily, maximum 25 mg daily.
- Adult: 200 mg once weekly or 50 mg once daily.
Treatment of pneumocystosis
- Child: 2 mg/kg once daily, maximum 100 mg daily.
- Adult: 100 mg once daily.
Paucibacillary and multibacillary leprosy
- Child under 10 years: 2 mg/kg once daily.
- Child from 10 to 14 years: 50 mg once daily.
- Child 15 years and over and adult: 100 mg once daily.
Duration
- Prophylaxis of toxoplasmosis and pneumocystosis: as long as necessary.
- Treatment of pneumocystosis: 21 days.
- Paucibacillary leprosy: 6 months.
- Multibacillary leprosy: 12 months.
Contra-indications, adverse effects, precautions
- Do not administer to patients with allergy to sulfones or severe anaemia before anaemia is treated.
- Administer with caution to patients with renal or hepatic impairment.
- May cause haemolytic anaemia in patients with G6PD deficiency, dose-related haemolytic anaemia, neutropenia, methaemoglobinaemia, pruritus, rash, gastrointestinal disturbances, peripheral neuropathies, and agranulocytosis.
- Hypersensitivity reactions during the first month of treatment require permanent discontinuation.
- Monitor blood count and transaminases if possible.
- Monitor combination with zidovudine because haematological toxicity increases.
- Pregnancy: no contra-indication.
- Breast-feeding: no contra-indication.
Source
MSF Essential drugs practical guidelines (January 2026)
This page combines source-derived medicine reference sections with Kenza editorial context, while leaving out the Storage and Remarks sections from the source batch.
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