Uses of Biovacor

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1. What is Biovacor?

The active ingredient Biovacor is Pravastatin sodium 10mg. Pravastatin is an anti-hyperlipidemic drug belonging to the class of HMG-CoA inhibitors, statins. Pravastatin prevents the conversion of HMG-CoA to mevalonate (a precursor of cholesterol). Pravastatin inhibits cholesterol biosynthesis, helps reduce cholesterol in liver cells, stimulates the synthesis of LDL receptors, thereby increasing the transport of LDL from the blood. The result of these biochemical processes is a decrease in plasma cholesterol concentrations.
Indications for the use of Biovacor:
Indications for adjunct to dietary therapy when patients with primary hypercholesterolemia have applied diet, exercise, and weight loss but have not improved their condition; Indicated as an adjunct to dietary therapy to reduce the risk of cardiovascular death in patients with moderate or severe hypercholesterolemia (without obvious clinical manifestations) with a high incidence of first-time cardiovascular disease. ; Indications adjuvant to overcome risk factors in patients with a history of myocardial infarction, unstable angina with normal or elevated cholesterol, to help reduce the risk of death from cardiovascular disease; Reduction of hyperlipidemia in patients receiving immunosuppressive drugs after organ transplantation. Contraindications to the use of Biovacor:
Patients with hypersensitivity to the active ingredients or components of the drug; In patients with active liver disease, serum transaminases increased more than 3 times the normal level for a long time (unknown cause); Pregnant women and nursing mothers.

2. Usage and dosage of Biovacor

Usage:
Before starting treatment with Biovacor, patients need to rule out secondary causes of hyperlipidemia. At the same time, patients need to maintain a standard diet, low in cholesterol, maintained throughout the course of taking the drug; Adjust the dose of Biovacor according to the needs and response of each person by increasing the dose at least 4 weeks apart until the desired concentration of cholesterol - LDL is reached or the maximum dose is reached; Take Pravastatin once a day, at least in the evening. The patient can take the drug with a meal or on an empty stomach. Dosage:
Hypercholesterolemia: Use dose 10-40mg/time/day. Typically, patients will see a response to treatment within 1 week, up to a maximum of 4 weeks. It is advisable to periodically check lipid levels to adjust the dose accordingly. The maximum dose is 40mg/day; Prevention of cardiovascular disease: Use a dose of 40mg/day; After organ transplantation: The starting dose is 20 mg/day in patients receiving immunosuppressive drugs. Depending on the response of the lipid index, the dose may be increased to 40 mg/day under close medical supervision; Children with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia: Children 8-13 years old take a dose of 10 - 20mg/time/day; children 14 - 18 years old use dose 10 - 40mg / time / day; Elderly: No dose adjustment is required unless there are risk factors for serious disease; Patients with hepatic or renal impairment: Initiate at 10 mg/day in patients with moderate to severe renal impairment or severe hepatic impairment. Dosage should be adjusted according to the response of the lipid index, under the close supervision of the physician. *Note on combination therapy:
Co-administration of Pravastatin with a bile acid binding resin (colestyramine, colestipol) will increase the lipid-lowering effect on total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol. Pravastatin should be taken 1 hour before or 4 hours after taking these drugs; For patients taking cyclosporin (with/without other immunosuppressive agents) treatment should be initiated at a dose of pravastatin 20 mg once daily, dose adjustments to 40 mg should be done with caution; There is no dose limitation when combining Pravastatin with HIV and HCV protease inhibitors such as: Atazanavir, Atazanavir + Ritonavir, Darunavir + Ritonavir, Lopinavir + Ritonavir. Overdose: Some cases of Pravastatin overdose have no special symptoms and all recover without leaving any sequelae. In case of drug overdose, patients should be hospitalized immediately for symptomatic and supportive treatment.
Missed dose: If you forget to take a dose of Pravastatin, you should consult your doctor for an answer right away.

3. Side effects of the drug Biovacor

In general, pravastatin is well tolerated, so the rate of discontinuation due to side effects is lower than with other lipid-lowering drugs. However, when using Biovacor, patients may still face the risk of experiencing some side effects such as:
Uncommon: Headache, dizziness, insomnia, sleep disturbance, vision disturbance. blurred vision, double vision), heartburn, indigestion, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, flatulence, diarrhea, constipation, itchy skin, skin rash, urticaria, hair loss, abnormal urination (dysuria (dysuria) , nocturia), sexual dysfunction, arthralgia, muscle weakness, myalgia, muscle spasticity, increased plasma creatinine kinase levels, increased serum transaminases; Very rare: Paresthesia, peripheral polyneuritis, hypersensitivity reactions (anaphylaxis, angioedema, lupus-like syndrome), pancreatitis, hepatitis, jaundice, hepatocellular necrosis, globin Paroxysmal myositis leads to myositis, polymyositis, and secondary acute renal failure. When experiencing side effects of Biovacor, patients should immediately notify their doctor to receive advice on appropriate management interventions.

4. Be careful when using Biovacor

Before and during the use of Biovacor, the patient should note the following:
Liver enzyme tests should be done before starting treatment with Pravastatin and in cases where such tests are indicated; Creatinine kinase should be measured before initiating therapy in patients with hypothyroidism, impaired renal function, personal or family history of hereditary muscle disorders, a history of muscle toxicity with statins or fibrates, have a history of liver disease, drink a lot of alcohol or drink alcohol, people over 70 years old have risk factors for rhabdomyolysis, the possibility of drug interactions with some special patients,... In these cases, it is necessary to Considering the benefits and risks, patients should be monitored clinically during treatment with pravastatin. If creatinine kinase is above 5 times normal, treatment with pravastatin should not be initiated. At the same time, it is recommended to re-quantify the results after 5-7 days; During treatment with Pravastatin, the patient should inform the doctor if there are symptoms of muscle weakness, muscle pain, stiffness, ... When these symptoms appear, the patient should be tested for creatinine kinase to take appropriate interventions; Pravastatin therapy should be discontinued if the patient experiences severe muscle symptoms that interfere with daily activities, even if the increase in creatinine kinase is less than 5 times the upper limit of normal. If symptoms resolve and creatinine kinase returns to normal, pravastatin may be considered again at the lowest dose and closely monitored by a physician. If hereditary myopathy is suspected in these patients, pravastatin should not be reintroduced; Pravastatin should only be used by women of childbearing age when it is certain that they are not pregnant and that they have very high cholesterol but have not responded to other medications; The composition of the drug Biovacor contains lactose, so it should not be used for people with galactose intolerance, glucose - galactose malabsorption or lactase deficiency; The use of Pravastatin is contraindicated during pregnancy. If the patient plans to become pregnant or is pregnant, she should immediately inform her doctor and discontinue use of Pravastatin to avoid the risk of negative effects on the fetus; Small amounts of Pravastatin are excreted in human milk, so Pravastatin is contraindicated in nursing mothers; Pravastatin has little or no influence on the ability to drive or use machines. However, the risk of dizziness that may occur during drug administration should be taken into account.

5. Biovacor drug interactions

Some drug interactions of Biovacor include:
The combination of pravastatin (the main ingredient of Biovacor) with fibrates (gemfibrozil, fenofibrate) should be avoided because of the potential for increased muscle toxicity. If co-administration is required, caution should be exercised and the patient's creatinine kinase monitored closely; Colestyramine/Colestipol may reduce the bioavailability of pravastatin by approximately 40-50% when administered concomitantly. Therefore, it is recommended to take Pravastatin 1 hour before or 4 hours after taking Colestyramine or 1 hour before taking Colestipol; Concomitant use of pravastatin and cyclosporin can increase the amount of pravastatin in the body by 4 times. Therefore, it is necessary to clinically control the biochemical indicators of the patient when combining these two drugs; Macrolide antibiotics such as Erythromycin and Clarithromycin increase the AUC and Cmax of pravastatin. Therefore, caution should be exercised when pravastatin is co-administered with these drugs; Increased risk of myopathy, rhabdomyolysis if pravastatin is used in combination with colchicine; There is an increased risk of effects on skeletal muscle if pravastatin is used concomitantly with niacin. In this case, the doctor may consider reducing the patient's dose of Pravastatin; Most protease inhibitors inhibit the metabolism of most statins, which can significantly increase serum statin concentrations. Concomitant use of lipid-lowering drugs with HIV drugs and hepatitis C virus (HCV) vitamins can lead to an increased risk of muscle damage, most seriously rhabdomyolysis and kidney failure leading to renal failure. even death. When using Biovacor, patients should inform their doctor about the medicines they are taking, the diseases they have / are suffering from. As a result, the doctor will make appropriate adjustments, avoiding the risk of drug interactions or other dangerous side effects.
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