APPROVED DOSAGE:
7.5ml of ritonavir liquid twice daily. Start on a low dose and increase over 14 days to minimise side-effects. Production of ritonavir hard gelatin capsules was suspended in 1998. A new formulation, Norvir Soft Elastic Capsule, is available on named patient basis, and should be licensed by Autumn 1999. Norvir SEC contain 100mg ritonavir and the standard dose (where ritonavir is the only protease inhibitor in your combination) is six capsules twice daily.
EXPERIMENTAL DOSAGE:
If taking ritonavir with saquinavir, take 4 ritonavir capsules or 5ml of liquid twice a day. With indinavir, take 4 ritonavir capsules or 5ml of liquid twice daily with one 400mg indinavir capsule; or take one ritonavir capsule or 1.25ml of liquid twice daily with two 400mg indinavir capsules.
STORAGE:
Store liquid and Norvir SEC below 25 degrees C but do not refrigerate.
CHILDREN:
Ritonavir is not formally approved for use in children, although it can be made available.
TIPS ON TAKING:
Take with food to reduce nausea. If taking the liquid, try mixing it with a milk-based nutritional supplement. Do not mix with water, fizzy drinks or fruit juice. To disguise the taste, suck ice cubes or icy fruit juice before and after your dose. Alternatively, follow ritonavir with chocolate, mango, peanut butter, salty crisps or other food with strong flavour.
COMMON SIDE-EFFECTS:
Diarrhoea, stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, weakness, taste abnormalities, loss of appetite, numbness around the mouth, lipodystrophy and metabolic irregularities.
RARE SIDE-EFFECTS:
Kidney problems, diabetes.
RESISTANCE TO RITONAVIR:
Causes resistance to indinavir and is likely to mean some resistance to nelfinavir, saquinavir and amprenavir.
KEY DRUG INTERACTIONS:
Ritonavir interacts with many other medications.Consult your doctor or HIV pharmacist before taking other drugs with ritonavir. Do not take ritonavir with piroxicam, dextropropoxyphene, pethidine; amiodarone, encainide, flecainide, propafenone, quinidine; bupoprion; astemizole, terfenadine; clozapine, pimozide;alprazolam, clorazepate, diazepam, estazolam; bepridil; cisapride; fluorazepam, midazolam, triazolam, zolpidem.
Disclaimer:
The site editor has taken all such care as he considers reasonable in preparing the information published, but they cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies or mis-statements of fact contained herein.
