delavirdine

Generic Name: delavirdine (de la VIR deen)Brand Names: Rescriptor

What is delavirdine?

Delavirdine is an antiviral medication that prevents human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) cells from multiplying in your body.

Delavirdine is used to treat HIV, which causes the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Delavirdine is not a cure for HIV or AIDS.

Delavirdine may also be used for other purposes not listed in this medication guide.

What is the most important information I should know about delavirdine?

Do not take delavirdine with pimozide (Orap), alprazolam (Xanax), midazolam (Versed), triazolam (Halcion), or ergot medicines such as dihydroergotamine (D.H.E. 45), ergonovine (Ergotrate), ergotamine (Ergomar, Cafergot, Wigraine), or methylergonovine (Methergine). These drugs can cause life-threatening side effects if you use them while you are taking delavirdine.

There are many other medicines that can interact with delavirdine, or make it less effective. Tell your doctor about all the prescription and over-the-counter medications you use. This includes vitamins, minerals, herbal products, and drugs prescribed by other doctors. Do not start using a new medication without telling your doctor. Keep a list with you of all the medicines you use and show this list to any doctor or other healthcare provider who treats you.

HIV/AIDS is usually treated with a combination of different drugs. To best treat your condition, use all of your medications as directed by your doctor. Do not change your doses or medication schedule without advice from your doctor. Every person with HIV or AIDS should remain under the care of a doctor.

Avoid having unprotected sex or sharing needles, razors, or toothbrushes. Taking this medication will not prevent you from passing HIV to other people. Talk with your doctor about safe methods of preventing HIV transmission during sex. Sharing drug or medicine needles is never safe, even for a healthy person.

What should I discuss with my healthcare provider before taking delavirdine?

Do not use this medication if you are allergic to delavirdine, or if you are using any of the following drugs:

• alprazolam (Xanax), midazolam (Versed) or triazolam (Halcion);

• pimozide (Orap); or

• ergot medicine such as ergotamine (Ergomar, Ergostat, Cafergot, Ercaf, Wigraine), dihydroergotamine (D.H.E. 45, Migranal Nasal Spray), ergonovine (Ergotrate), or methylergonovine (Methergine).

Using any of these medicines while you are taking delavirdine can cause serious medical problems or death.

If you have certain conditions, you may need a dose adjustment or special tests to safely take this medication. Before taking delavirdine, tell your doctor if you have:

• liver disease;

• high cholesterol or triglycerides;

• low stomach acid production; or

• if you have ever taken efavirenz (Sustiva) or nevirapine (Viramune) and they were not effective in treating your condition.

FDA pregnancy category C. It is not known whether delavirdine is harmful to an unborn baby. Before taking this medication, tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant during treatment. HIV can be passed to the baby if the mother is not properly treated during pregnancy. Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant during treatment. Take all of your HIV medicines as directed to control your infection while you are pregnant.

Your name may need to be listed on an antiviral pregnancy registry when you start using delavirdine. The purpose of this registry is to track the outcome of the pregnancy and delivery to evaluate whether delavirdine had any effect on the baby.

You should not breast-feed while you are using delavirdine. Women with HIV or AIDS should not breast-feed at all. Even if your baby is born without HIV, you may still pass the virus to the baby in your breast milk.

How should I take delavirdine?

Take delavirdine exactly as it was prescribed for you. Do not take the medication in larger amounts, or take it for longer than recommended by your doctor. Follow the directions on your prescription label.

Do not take delavirdine as your only HIV medication. HIV/AIDS is usually treated with a combination of different drugs. Your disease may become resistant to delavirdine if you do not take it in combination with other HIV medicines your doctor has prescribed.

This medication comes with patient instructions for safe and effective use. Follow these directions carefully. Ask your doctor or pharmacist if you have any questions.

Take this medicine with a full glass of water.

Delavirdine can be taken with or without food.

If you have a condition of decreased stomach acid, your doctor may recommend taking delavirdine with an acidic beverage such as orange or cranberry juice.

The 100-milligram delavirdine tablets may be dissolved in water to make swallowing easier. Place 4 tablets into at least 3 ounces (just under 1/3 cup) of water. Let the liquid stand for a few minutes, then stir to allow the tablets to disperse evenly in the liquid. Drink this mixture right away. To make sure you get the entire dose, add a little more water to the same glass, swirl gently and drink right away.

The 200-milligram delavirdine tablet must be swallowed whole. Do not crush, chew, or disperse the tablet in water.

It is important to take delavirdine regularly to get the most benefit. Get your prescriptions refilled before you run out of medicine completely.

To best treat your condition, use all of your medications as directed by your doctor. Do not change your doses or medication schedule without advice from your doctor. Every person with HIV or AIDS should remain under the care of a doctor.

To be sure this medication is helping your condition, your blood will need to be tested on a regular basis. Your liver function may also need to be tested. It is important that you not miss any scheduled visits to your doctor.

Store delavirdine at room temperature away from moisture and heat.

See also: Delavirdine dosage in more detail

What happens if I miss a dose?

Take the missed dose as soon as you remember. If it is almost time for your next dose, skip the missed dose and take the medicine at the next regularly scheduled time. Do not take extra medicine to make up the missed dose.

What happens if I overdose?

Seek emergency medical attention if you think you have used too much of this medicine. Symptoms of a delavirdine overdose are not known.

What should I avoid while taking delavirdine?

If you also take an antacid, take it at least 1 hour before or after taking delavirdine. Do not take antacids and delavirdine at the same time. Avoid having unprotected sex or sharing needles, razors, or toothbrushes. Taking this medication will not prevent you from passing HIV to other people. Talk with your doctor about safe methods of preventing HIV transmission during sex. Sharing drug or medicine needles is never safe, even for a healthy person.

Delavirdine side effects

Get emergency medical help if you have any of these signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficulty breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.

Call your doctor at once if you have any of these serious side effects:

• fever, sore throat, and headache with a severe blistering, peeling, and red skin rash;

• easy bruising or bleeding, unusual weakness;

• fever, chills, body aches, flu symptoms; or

• any other signs of new infection.

Less serious side effects may include:

• mild nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, or bloating;

• diarrhea or constipation;

• headache, mood changes;

• blurred vision;

• cough, stuffy nose;

• muscle or joint pain;

• sleep problems (insomnia), unusual dreams;

• tired feeling, trouble concentrating; or

• changes in the shape or location of body fat (especially in your arms, legs, face, neck, breasts, and waist).

This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

Delavirdine Dosing Information

Usual Adult Dose for HIV Infection:

400 mg orally three times a dayThe US Department of Health and Human Services does not recommend the use of delavirdine as initial NNRTI therapy due to its inferior antiviral efficacy. Efavirenz is currently the NNRTI of choice.

What other drugs will affect delavirdine?

Tell your doctor about all other medicines you use, especially:

• sildenafil (Viagra);

• St. John's wort;

• a blood thinner such as warfarin (Coumadin);

• a cholesterol medication such as Lipitor or Zocor;

• an antibiotic such as clarithromycin (Biaxin), rifabutin (Mycobutin) or rifampin (Rifadin, Rifater, Rifamate, Rimactane);

• heart or blood pressure medications such as diltiazem (Cartia, Cardizem), felodipine (Plendil), nifedipine (Nifedical, Procardia), verapamil (Calan, Covera, Isoptin, Verelan), and others;

• heart rhythm medicine such as amiodarone (Cordarone), flecainide (Tambocor), or propafenone (Rythmol), or quinidine (Quinaglute, Quinidex);

• medications to prevent organ transplant rejection;

• other HIV medicines such as indinavir (Crixivan), lopinavir/ritonavir (Kaletra), nelfinavir (Viracept), ritonavir (Norvir), or saquinavir (Invirase);

• a sedative such as estazolam (ProSom), flurazepam (Dalmane), quazepam (Doral), or temazepam (Restoril);

• seizure medications such as phenytoin (Dilantin) or carbamazepine (Tegretol);

• steroid medicine such as dexamethasone (Decadron, Hexadrol) or fluticasone (Advair, Flovent, Flonase); or

• stomach medications such as Axid, Pepcid, Prevacid, Prilosec, Tagamet, or Zantac.

This list is not complete and there are many other medicines that can interact with delavirdine. Tell your doctor about all the prescription and over-the-counter medications you use. This includes vitamins, minerals, herbal products, and drugs prescribed by other doctors. Do not start using a new medication without telling your doctor. Keep a list with you of all the medicines you use and show this list to any doctor or other healthcare provider who treats you.

Where can I get more information?

• Your pharmacist can provide more information about delavirdine.

• Remember, keep this and all other medicines out of the reach of children, never share your medicines with others, and use this medication only for the indication prescribed.
• Every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided by Cerner Multum, Inc. ('Multum') is accurate, up-to-date, and complete, but no guarantee is made to that effect. Drug information contained herein may be time sensitive. Multum information has been compiled for use by healthcare practitioners and consumers in the United States and therefore Multum does not warrant that uses outside of the United States are appropriate, unless specifically indicated otherwise. Multum's drug information does not endorse drugs, diagnose patients or recommend therapy. Multum's drug information is an informational resource designed to assist licensed healthcare practitioners in caring for their patients and/or to serve consumers viewing this service as a supplement to, and not a substitute for, the expertise, skill, knowledge and judgment of healthcare practitioners. The absence of a warning for a given drug or drug combination in no way should be construed to indicate that the drug or drug combination is safe, effective or appropriate for any given patient. Multum does not assume any responsibility for any aspect of healthcare administered with the aid of information Multum provides. The information contained herein is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, warnings, drug interactions, allergic reactions, or adverse effects. If you have questions about the drugs you are taking, check with your doctor, nurse or pharmacist.

Copyright 1996-2006 Cerner Multum, Inc. Version: 7.02. Revision Date: 08/21/2009 1:54:23 PM.