Rilpivirine: Uses, indications and precautions when using

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Rilpivirine has the generic brand name Edurant. Medicines are effective in treating HIV and are often combined with other drugs to help control the source of HIV infection. The mechanism of action of the drug is to reduce the amount of virus in the body to help improve the immune system.

1. What does Rilpivirine do?

Rilpivirine is effective in treating HIV when combined with certain other medicines that help control the source of HIV transmission. With the mechanism of action of the drug is to reduce the amount of virus, thereby improving the body's immune system. This effect helps patients reduce the risk of complications of the disease (such as opportunistic infections, cancer). It also helps you to improve your quality of life. Rilpivirine works best for people who have never used HIV medicines.
However, Rilpivirine is not considered a cure for HIV. Follow your doctor's instructions to make sure you don't pass HIV on to others, and combine it with other precautions such as using condoms or polyurethane condoms or dental dams during sex. Do not share personal items of the sick person (razor, toothbrush, face towel ...) because these items can be contaminated with blood and body fluids of the patient.

2. How to use Rilpivirine

Before using the drug, make sure you understand the information, if you have any questions you should consult your doctor for answers. Carefully read the information contained in the medicine box before use.
Oral tablets can be taken with or without food. The usual dosage is once daily. Dosage depends on the medications you are taking during that time.
Certain medicines decrease the absorption of Rilpivirine such as: proton pump inhibitors or PPIs, H2 blockers, antacids. This makes Rilpivirine less effective. Do not take PPIs (such as omeprazole, lansoprazole) while using this medicine. In case you are taking antacids use Rilpivirine 2 or 4 hours before. With H2 blockers (eg, famotidine, ranitidine), it should be taken at least 12 hours before or 4 hours after taking rilpivirine.
Use the medicine regularly as directed by your doctor for the best results for the treatment process. Absolutely do not arbitrarily adjust the dose of the drug, do not stop the drug suddenly, even for a short time. Doing this does not make your condition better, but increases the amount of virus in your body, which can lead to serious side effects and cause drug resistance.

3. Side effects

While taking Rilpivirine you may experience some side effects such as:
Headaches Difficulty sleeping Serious side effects, including: mental or mood changes (such as depression, thoughts of wanting to want to) suicide), fast or irregular heartbeat, severe dizziness, fainting. Changing the amount of body fat, one can observe an increase in fat in the upper back and stomach area and a decrease in the arms and legs. Serious allergic reaction. Signs to know this: rash, red rash, itching or swelling (especially of the face, tongue or throat), dizziness with difficulty breathing. When your doctor directs you to use this medicine, it means that you have judged that the benefits of the drug outweigh the side effects it causes. There are many cases of using the drug without any serious side effects.
Once your immune system improves, the body will begin to fight the infections, however some symptoms of the disease will recur during this time. Symptoms can appear at any time, even if you have had treatment you have had treatment for several months before or have only had treatment for a short time. Some serious symptoms require medical intervention, including:
Unexplained weight loss Severe fatigue Persistent muscle pain or weakness Severe headache Joint pain, numbness or tingling in the soles of the feet or hands Meet vision problems Signs of infection (such as fever, chills, swollen lymph nodes, difficulty breathing, cough, etc.) Signs of an overactive thyroid (such as irritability, stress, heat intolerance, fast or pounding or irregular heartbeat,...) Guillain-Barre syndrome (such as difficulty breathing or swallowing or eye movements, drooping eyelids, facial paralysis, difficulty speaking) of liver disease (such as persistent nausea or vomiting, loss of appetite, stomach or abdominal pain, jaundice of the skin and mucous membranes, dark urine)

4. Precautions

To prevent possible side effects, when using the drug you need to keep a few things in mind:
Tell your doctor about any allergies you may have (eg to the ingredients of the medicine). , animal hair, pollen, etc.). There are some inactive substances in the ingredients that can cause serious side effects or allergic reactions. Tell your doctor or pharmacist your and your family's medical history, especially of liver and kidney diseases (such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C), mental disorders (such as depression). The drug affects the heart rate and causes QT prolongation. Symptoms may appear as severe dizziness, fainting. This risk is increased if you are taking Qt-prolonging drugs and certain pre-existing medical conditions. Before using rilpivirine, tell your doctor if you or someone in your family has heart problems. Lowers blood levels of potassium and magnesium thereby increasing the risk of QT prolongation. Before any surgery, give your doctor a list of all the medicines you are taking (including prescription, over-the-counter, and other supportive products). Older adults may be more sensitive to the components of the drug and are more likely to have side effects, especially QT prolongation. Pregnant women should receive early treatment to reduce the risk of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Talk to your doctor to learn more about the benefits and risks of the drug.

5. Interaction

Once a drug interaction occurs, the drug's mechanism of action is also changed. This affects the quality of the drug as well as the treatment results. Some typical products that cause interactions include:
Orlistat Other HIV NNRTIs (such as efavirenz, nevirapine, delavirdine) Certain combination HIV medicines (elvitegravir or cobicistat or emtricitabine or tenofovir) PPIs Also to name a few other drugs that can affect how rilpivirine is removed from your body, examples include:
Dexamethasone Macrolide antibiotics (such as erythromycin) Rifamycins (such as rifampin, rifapentine) Certain medicines certain combination products used to treat chronic hepatitis C (ombitasvir or paritaprevir or ritonavir or dasabuvir).

6. Overdose

Overdose usually occurs when a patient takes more than prescribed. Clinical symptoms of overdose may include:
Tachycardia, irregular heartbeat Severe dizziness Fainting.

7. Storage and preservation

The most suitable temperature to store the medicine is at room temperature, avoid exposing the medicine to direct sunlight. Store this medication in its original bottle. Absolutely do not leave the medicine in the bathroom, toilet or place with high humidity because it can affect the quality of the medicine such as mold. With pills that are no longer usable, you need to dispose of them properly so as not to affect the environment.

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Reference source: webmd.com