Nitazoxanide
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From MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine
Antiprotozoal
Dosing in kidney impairment
This label has no separate kidney-impairment dosing section. Check warnings and clinical pharmacology in the full label.
Dosing in liver impairment
Renal and Hepatic Impairment The pharmacokinetics of nitazoxanide in patients with compromised renal or hepatic function has not been studied.
Preparation and administration
Recommended Dosage and Important Administration Instructions Important Administration Instructions for Pediatric Patients 11 years of [See table below.]
Drug interactions
Check nitazoxanide against a medication listLabel text (2 paragraphs)
Competition for binding sites may occur when administered concurrently with other highly plasma protein-bound drugs with narrow therapeutic indices. Monitor for adverse reactions (7).
7.1 Highly Protein Bound Drugs with Narrow Therapeutic Indices Tizoxanide (the active metabolite of nitazoxanide) is highly bound to plasma protein (>99.9%). Therefore, monitor for adverse reactions when administering nitazoxanide concurrently with other highly plasma protein-bound drugs with narrow therapeutic indices, as competition for binding sites may occur (e.g., warfarin).
Contraindications
Hypersensitivity (4.1)
4.1 Hypersensitivity Nitazoxanide tablets and ALINIA for Oral Suspension are contraindicated in patients with a prior hypersensitivity to nitazoxanide or any other ingredient in the formulations.
Safety data
Reported adverse events (FAERS)
Liver injury (LiverTox)
ELikelihood score E: Unlikely cause of clinically apparent liver injury.
Nitazoxanide is an antimicrobial with activity against several parasitic worms and protozoa that is used predominantly in the United States in treatment of giardiasis and cryptosporidiosis. Nitazoxanide therapy has not been reported to cause serum aminotransferase elevations during therapy or clinically apparent liver injury.
ABCDEA: well known cause; E: unlikely cause. [HD]: high doses only.
Pregnancy and lactation
Pregnancy
8.1 Pregnancy Risk Summary There are no data with nitazoxanide in pregnant women to inform a drug-associated risk. No teratogenicity or fetotoxicity was observed in animal reproduction studies with administration of nitazoxanide to pregnant rats and rabbits during organogenesis at exposures 30 and 2 times, respectively, the exposure at the maximum recommended human dose of 500 mg twice daily based on body surface area (BSA). In the U.S. general population, the estimated background risk of major birth defects and miscarriage in clinically recognized pregnancies is 2% to 4% and 15% to 20%, respectively.
Data Animal Data Nitazoxanide was administered orally to pregnant rats at doses of 0, 200, 800 or 3200 mg/kg/day on gestation days 6 to 15. Nitazoxanide produced no evidence of systemic maternal toxicity when administered once daily via oral gavage to pregnant female rats at levels up to 3200 mg/kg/day during the period of organogenesis. In rabbits, nitazoxanide was administered at doses of 0, 25, 50, or 100 mg/kg/day on gestation days 7 to 20. Oral treatment of pregnant rabbits with nitazoxanide during organogenesis resulted in minimal maternal toxicity and no external fetal anomalies.
Breastfeeding (LactMed)
Limited information indicates that a maternal dose of 500 mg of nitazoxanide produces low levels of an active metabolite, tizoxanide, in breastmilk and would not be expected to cause any adverse effects in breastfed infants, especially if the infant is older than 2 months. But until more data become available, an alternate drug may be preferred, especially while nursing a newborn or preterm infant.
Supply and cost
Drug shortage status
Recalls (last 24 months)
Therapeutic equivalence (Orange Book)
Price ladder
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