What was the initial dose of doxycycline given for the COPD exacerbation?

• A. 200 mg STAT
• B. 200 mg daily
• C. 400 mg STAT
• D. 100 mg daily

Answer: (A)

A loading dose is used to rapidly reach effective drug levels when starting therapy. For doxycycline in a COPD exacerbation, the standard approach is to give 200 mg right away (STAT) as the initial dose, then continue with a maintenance dose of 100 mg every 12 hours (often 100 mg twice daily). This immediate 200 mg loading dose ensures the antibiotic acts promptly, which is important in acute COPD exacerbations where delaying therapeutic levels can slow the clinical response. The other options either don’t provide a rapid rise to effective levels (200 mg daily or 100 mg daily) or use an unnecessarily large single dose (400 mg STAT) not aligned with typical practice.