U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Medications that should NOT be used with Protease

December 18, 1997

This article is part of TheBody.com's archive. Because it contains information that may no longer be accurate, this article should only be considered a historical document.

Drug Category	Invirase™ Roche saquinavir	Norvir™ Abbott ritonavir	Crixivan® Merck indinavir	Viracept® Agouron nelfinavir	Potential Alternatives (these alternatives may not be therapeutically equivalent)
Analgesic	---	meperidine (Demerol) piroxicam (Feldene) propoxyphene (Darvon, others)	---	---	acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) aspirin (Bayer, others) Advertisement oxycodon (Perocet, others)
Cardiovascular (antiarrhythmic)	---	amiodarone (Cordarone) encainide (Enkaid) flecainide (Tambocor) propafenone (Rythmol) quinidine (various)	---	---	very limited clinical experience
Cardiovascular (calcium channel blocker)	---	bepridil (Vascor)	---	---	very limited clinical experience
Antimycobacterial	rifampin (Rifadin, others)	rifabutin (Mycobutin)	rifampin (Rifadin, others)	rifampin (Rifadin, others)	alternatives for rifabutin (Mycobutin): clarithromycin (Biaxin) ethambutol (Myambutol)
Ergot Alkaloid (vasoconstrictor)	dihydroergotamine (D.H.E. 45) ergotamine (various)	dihydroergotamine (D.H.E. 45) ergotamine (various)	dihydroergotamine (D.H.E. 45) ergotamine (various)	dihydroergotamine (D.H.E. 45) ergotamine (various)	---
Cold and Allergy (antihistamine)	astemizole (Hismanal) terfenadine (Seldane)	astemizole (Hismanal) terfenadine (Seldane)	astemizole (Hismanal) terfenadine (Seldane)	astemizole (Hismanal) terfenadine (Seldane)	loratadine (Claritin)
Gastrointestinal	cisapride (Propulsid)	cisapride (Propulsid)	cisapride (Propulsid)	cisapride (Propulsid)	very limited clinical experience
Psychotropic (antidepressant)	---	bupropion (Wellbutrin)	---	---	fluoxetine (Prozac) desipramine (Norpramin)
Psychotropic (neuroleptic)	---	clozapine (Clozaril) pimozide (Orap)	---	---	very limited clinical experience
Psychotropic (sedative/hypnotic)	midazolam (Versed) triazolam (Halcion)	clorazepate (Tranxene) diazepam (Valium) estazolam (ProSom) flurazepam (Dalmane) midazolam (Versed) triazolam (Halcion) zolpidem (Ambien)	midazolam (Versed) triazolam (Halcion)	midazolam (Versed) triazolam (Halcion)	temazepam (Restoril) lorazepam (Ativan)

References: Product Labeling -

Invirase™ (December 6, 1995)

Norvir™ (March 1, 1996) --
Drug Interactions: Physicians Guide

Crixivan® (March 13, 1996)

Viracept® (March 14, 1997)

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This article is part of TheBody.com's archive. Because it contains information that may no longer be accurate, this article should only be considered a historical document.

This article was provided by U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It is a part of the publication Protease Inhibitors Backgrounder.

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