Therapeutic Action
Antituberculosis antibacterial (bactericidal activity)
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Drug reference
Antituberculosis antibacterial (bactericidal activity)
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Latent tuberculosis, in combination with isoniazid
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Do not administer to patients with jaundice, hypersensitivity to rifamycins or history of severe haematological disorders (thrombocytopenia, purpura) during a previous treatment with rifamycins. Do not administer the weekly regimen to children under 2 years or the daily regimen to children under 13 years. Avoid or administer with caution to patients with hepatic disorders. May cause: harmless orange-red discoloration of body secretions (urine, tears, saliva, sputum, sweat, etc.); gastrointestinal disturbances; rarely, hepatotoxicity; headache, influenza-like symptoms; haematological disorders, cutaneous reactions (rash, pruritus) and hypersensitivity reactions (approximately 4% of patients). If signs of hepatotoxicity develop (e.g. jaundice), rifapentine should be discontinued until symptoms resolve. Rifapentine reduces the effect of many drugs (antimicrobials, anticonvulsants, some antiretrovirals, some hormones, antidiabetics, corticosteroids, direct-acting antivirals for chronic hepatitis C, warfarin, etc.): do not administer in patients on protease inhibitors or nevirapine; in women using contraceptive, use medroxyprogesterone or an intrauterine device; in the event of concomitant fluconazole administration, administer each drug 12 hours apart (rifapentine in the morning, fluconazole in the evening); for the other drugs, adjust dosage if necessary. Pregnancy and breast-feeding: not recommended (safety not established)
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150 mg and 300 mg tablets
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Weekly regimen for 3 months, in combination with isoniazid Child 2 years and over and adult: Weight Weekly dosage 150 mg tablet 300 mg tablet 10 to 14 kg 300 mg 2 tab once weekly 1 tab once weekly 14.1 to 25 kg 450 mg 3 tab once weekly _ 25.1 to 32 kg 600 mg 4 tab once weekly 2 tab once weekly 32.1 to 49 kg 750 mg 5 tab once weekly _ ≥ 50 kg 900 mg 6 tab once weekly 3 tab once weekly Daily regimen for 1 month, in combination with isoniazid Child 13 years and over and adult: 600 mg once daily
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Tablets can be crushed and mixed into a spoon with a small amount of food. Also comes in fixed dose combination containing 300 mg of rifapentine/300 mg of isoniazid. Prefer this formulation for weekly regimens to reduce the pill burden (3 tablets once weekly). This formulation is only recommended for children over 14 years and adults. Rifapentine and rifampicin are not interchangeable in regimens for latent tuberculosis.
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– – Below 25 °C
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600 mg once daily
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