Nevirapine (Systemic)

Brand Names : Viramune

Before Using This Medicine

In deciding to use a medicine, the risks of taking the medicine must be weighed against the good it will do. This is a decision you and your doctor will make. For nevirapine, the following should be considered:

Allergies - Tell your doctor if you have ever had any unusual or allergic reaction to nevirapine. Also tell your health care professional if you are allergic to any other substances, such as foods, preservatives, or dyes.

Note:

Women may have a greater chance of getting a serious rash or reaction with this medicine. Nevirapine has been reported to cause unwanted and sometimes serious skin reactions or rash which usually occur in the first 12 to 18weeks of taking this medicine.

Pregnancy - Nevirapine crosses the placenta. Studies in pregnant women have shown that nevirapine decreases the chance of passing HIV to your baby during labor and at birth. Studies in animals at high doses have found that it causes decreased body weight of infant animals. However, nevirapine did not cause birth defects in animals.

Breast-feeding - Nevirapine passes into breast milk. Breast-feeding is not recommended in AIDS patients because of the risk of passing the AIDS virus on to the nursing infant and the possibility of serious adverse reactions in nursing infants.

Children - Granulocytopenia may be more likely to occur in children, who are usually more sensitive than adults to this effect of nevirapine.

Older adults - Many medicines have not been studied specifically in older people. Therefore, it may not be known whether they work exactly the same way they do in younger adults. There is no specific information comparing use of nevirapine in the elderly with use in other age groups.

Other medicines - Although certain medicines should not be used together at all, in other cases two different medicines may be used together even if an interaction might occur. In these cases, your doctor may want to change the dose, or other precautions may be necessary. When you are taking nevirapine, it is especially important that your health care professional know if you are taking any of the following:

• Clarithromycin (e.g., Biaxin) - Nevirapine may decrease the amount of this medicine in your body. Your doctor may want to try another medicine.

• Fluconazole (e.g., Diflucan) or
• Ketoconazole (e.g., Nizoral) or
• Methadone (e.g., Methadose) or
• contraceptives (birth control ) containing estrogen or progesterone - Nevirapine may decrease the amount of these medicines in the body and cause them to be less effective

• Lopinavir and Ritoavir (e.g., Kaletra) - Your doctor may want to change the amount of this medicine that you take

• Rifabutin (e.g., Mycobutin) or
• Rifampin (e.g., Rifadin) or
• St. John's wort or St. John's wort containing products - These medicines may decrease the amount of nevirapine in the body

• Prednisone (e.g., Deltasone) - May increase the incidence and severity of a severe rash

• Warfarin - Your doctor will want to monitor your blood levels when you are taking this medicine at the same time as nevirapine.

Other medical problems - The presence of other medical problems may affect the use of nevirapine. Make sure you tell your doctor if you have any other medical problems, especially:

• Kidney disease - Nevirapine may be removed more slowly from the body

• Liver disease - Nevirapine has been reported to cause unwanted and sometimes serious effects in the liver