CLARITHROMYCIN-ORAL (cont.)
PRECAUTIONS: Before taking clarithromycin, tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are allergic to it; or to other macrolide antibiotics (e.g., erythromycin, azithromycin); or if you have any other allergies. This medication should be used with caution if you have certain medical conditions. Before using this medicine, consult your doctor or pharmacist if you have: liver or kidney disease, certain heart problems (e.g., QTc prolongation, bradycardia), mineral imbalance (e.g., low potassium or magnesium levels), family history of certain heart rhythm disorders (QTc prolongation). This medication should be used only when clearly needed during pregnancy. Discuss the risks and benefits with your doctor. Based on information for similar drugs, this medication may pass into breast milk. Therefore, consult your doctor before breast-feeding.
DRUG INTERACTIONS: Your healthcare professionals (e.g., doctor or pharmacist) may already be aware of any possible drug interactions and may be monitoring you for it. Do not start, stop or change the dosage of any medicine before checking with them first. This drug should not be used with the following medications because very serious interactions may occur: eletriptan, eplerenone, ergot alkaloids (e.g., ergotamine, dihydroergotamine), quinupristin-dalfopristin, drugs which may affect the heart rhythm (cisapride, astemizole, terfenadine, pimozide). If you are currently using any of these medications, tell your doctor or pharmacist before starting clarithromycin. Other drugs besides clarithromycin and those listed above which may affect the heart rhythm (QTc prolongation) include amiodarone, dofetilide, quinidine, sotalol, moxifloxacin, gatifloxacin, thioridazine among others. QTc prolongation can infrequently result in serious, rarely fatal, irregular heartbeats. Consult your doctor or pharmacist for more details, and for instructions on how you may minimize the risk of this effect. Before using this medication, tell your doctor or pharmacist of all prescription and nonprescription/herbal products you may use, especially of: drugs affecting liver enzymes that remove clarithromycin from your body such as rifamycins (e.g., rifabutin, rifampin) or azole antifungals (e.g., itraconazole, fluconazole), certain HIV medications (e.g., zidovudine, protease inhibitors such as atazanavir, delavirdine, ritonavir), certain anti-seizure medications (e.g., carbamazepine, phenytoin, valproate), blood thinners (e.g., warfarin), digoxin, bacterial live vaccines. This drug can slow down the removal of other drugs from your body by affecting certain liver enzymes. Some examples of these affected drugs include alfentanil, certain benzodiazepines (e.g., alprazolam, midazolam, triazolam), bromocriptine, cilostazol, corticosteroids (e.g., methylprednisolone), cyclosporine, disopyramide, repaglinide, sildenafil, certain statins (atorvastatin, lovastatin, simvastatin), tacrolimus, tolterodine, theophylline. This medication may decrease the effectiveness of combination-type birth control pills. This can result in pregnancy. You may need to use an additional form of reliable birth control while using this medication. Consult your doctor or pharmacist for details.
Report Problems to the Food and Drug Administration
You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit the FDA MedWatch website or call 1-800-FDA-1088.
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