Isentress 400mg Tablet

Isentress (raltegravir) belonges to a group of antiretroviral drugs that prevent human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) from multiplying in your body. Isentress is a HIV medicaation used to treat HIV, the virus that can cause the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Isentress is not a cure for HIV or AIDS.

Raltegravir is for use in adults and children who weigh at least 4.4 pounds (2 kilograms).

Raltegravir is used with other HIV medications to help control HIV infection. It helps to decrease the amount of HIV in your body so your immune system can work better. This lowers your chance of getting HIV complications (such as new infections, cancer) and improves your quality of life. Raltegravir is known as an integrase inhibitor. It blocks the virus from growing and infecting more cells.

Raltegravir is not a cure for HIV infection. To decrease your risk of spreading HIV disease to others, do all of the following: (1) continue to take all HIV medications exactly as prescribed by your doctor, (2) always use an effective barrier method (latex or polyurethane condoms/dental dams) during all sexual activity, and (3) do not share personal items (such as needles/syringes, toothbrushes, and razors) that may have contacted blood or other body fluids. Consult your doctor or pharmacist for more details.

Isentress 400mg Tablet is an antiviral medication. It prevents the multiplication of HIV virus in human cells. Thus stops the HIV virus from producing new viruses. The virus produces an enzyme called HIV integrase. This helps the virus to multiply in the cells in your body. Isentress stops this enzyme from working. When used with other medicines, Isentress may reduce the amount of HIV in your blood (this is called your “viral load”) and increase your CD4-cell count (a type of white blood cells that plays an important role in maintaining a healthy immune system to help fight infection). Reducing the amount of HIV in the blood may improve the functioning of your immune system. This means your body may fight infection better.

Take this medicine in the dose and duration as advised by your doctor. Swallow it as a whole. Do not chew, crush or break it. Isentress 400mg Tablet may be taken with or without food, but it is better to take it at a fixed time.

Isentress tablets are contraindicated in patients with a hypersensitivity to Raltegravir Potassium or any inactive ingredient present in Isentress tablets.

• Missed Dose:

If you miss a dose of Isentress tablets 400mg take it as soon as you remember, unless it is time to take the next dose, then skip the missed dose.  Do not take a double dose.

• Overdose:

There is no specific information available on the treatment of overdosage with Isentress (Raltegravir Potassium tablets). Doses as high as 1600-mg single dose and 800-mg twice-daily multiple doses were studied in healthy volunteers without any evidence of toxicity. Occasional doses of up to 1800 mg per day were administered during the clinical studies of HIV-1 infected patients without evidence of toxicity.

• Blood in urine
• Fast heartbeat
• FeverSEVERE
• Hoarseness
• Irritation
• Tightness of chest
• Loss of appetite
• Nausea and Vomiting
• Redness of skin
• Upper right stomach pain

Drug rash with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms syndrome – This medicine should be used with caution since it may cause a Drug Rash with Eosinophilia and Systemic Symptoms (DRESS) syndrome. Appropriate corrective measures may need to be taken or therapy may need to be discontinued based on the clinical condition of the patient.

Myopathy – This medicine should be used with caution in patients with a known history of myopathy or increase in serum creatine kinase levels due to the increased risk of worsening of the patient’s condition.

Autoimmune disorders – This medicine should be used with caution in patients with a known history of autoimmune disorders due to the increased risk of worsening of the patient’s condition.

DailyMed – ISENTRESS – raltegravir tablet, film coated [Internet]. Dailymed.nlm.nih.gov. 2017 [cited 28 August 2017]. Available from: https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=cbd3e1af-81f3-44f6-8e45-652deab7a508#i4i_microbiology_id_bd0b8009-01f3-49b6-bf82-615647a6f38a

EMC [Internet]. 2017 [cited 28 August 2017]. Available from: https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/medicine/20484

Prescribing medicines in pregnancy database [Internet]. Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). 2017 [cited 28 August 2017]. Available from: http://www.tga.gov.au/prescribing-medicines-pregnancy-database

Raltegravir – DrugBank [Internet]. Drugbank.ca. 2017 [cited 28 August 2017]. Available from: https://www.drugbank.ca/drugs/DB06817

Raltegravir: MedlinePlus Drug Information [Internet]. Medlineplus.gov. 2017 [cited 28 August 2017]. Available from: https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/meds/a608004.html

Toxnet [Internet]. Toxnet.nlm.nih.gov. 2017 [cited 28 August 2017]. Available from: https://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/search2

1. Is raltegravir a protease inhibitor?

No. Raltegravir is an anti HIV drug. It does not have any known inhibitory effect on enzyme protease

2. What is Isentress used for?

Isentress is used for the treatment for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection

3. How does Isentress work?

How does Isentress inhibit HIV viral replication?Isentress works by inhibiting the action of an enzyme called integrase which is essential for the multiplication and survival of the virus (viral replication), thereby reducing HIV causing virus in the body.