Ursadiol
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From MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine
Dosing in kidney impairment
This label has no separate kidney-impairment dosing section. Check warnings and clinical pharmacology in the full label.
Preparation and administration
DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION Gallstone Dissolution The recommended dose for ursodiol capsules treatment of radiolucent gallbladder stones is 8 - 10 mg/kg/day given in 2 or 3 divided doses. Ultrasound images of the gallbladder should be obtained at 6-month intervals for the first year of ursodiol capsules therapy to monitor gallstone response.
If gallstones appear to have dissolved, ursodiol capsules therapy should be continued and dissolution confirmed on a repeat ultrasound examination within 1 to 3 months. Most patients who eventually achieve complete stone dissolution will show partial or complete dissolution at the first on-treatment reevaluation. If partial stone dissolution is not seen by 12 months of Ursodiol capsules therapy, the likelihood of success is greatly reduced.
Drug interactions
Check ursadiol against a medication listLabel text (1 paragraph)
Drug Interactions Bile acid sequestering agents such as cholestyramine and colestipol may interfere with the action of ursodiol capsules by reducing its absorption. Aluminum-based antacids have been shown to adsorb bile acids in vitro and may be expected to interfere with ursodiol capsules in the same manner as the bile acid sequestering agents. Estrogens, oral contraceptives, and clofibrate (and perhaps other lipid-lowering drugs) increase hepatic cholesterol secretion, and encourage cholesterol gallstone formation and hence may counteract the effectiveness of ursodiol capsules.
Contraindications
Ursodiol capsules will not dissolve calcified cholesterol stones, radiopaque stones, or radiolucent bile pigment stones. Hence, patients with such stones are not candidates for ursodiol capsules therapy. Patients with compelling reasons for cholecystectomy including unremitting acute cholecystitis, cholangitis, biliary obstruction, gallstone pancreatitis, or biliary-gastrointestinal fistula are not candidates for ursodiol capsules therapy. Allergy to bile acids.
Safety data
Reported adverse events (FAERS)
Liver injury (LiverTox)
LiverTox has no chapter for ursadiol. Check the label's hepatic warnings.
Pregnancy and lactation
Pregnancy
Pregnancy Category B Reproduction studies have been performed in rats and rabbits with ursodiol doses up to 200-fold the therapeutic dose and have revealed no evidence of impaired fertility or harm to the fetus at doses of 20- to 100-fold the human dose in rats and at 5-fold the human dose (highest dose tested) in rabbits. Studies employing 100- to 200-fold the human dose in rats have shown some reduction in fertility rate and litter size.
There have been no adequate and well-controlled studies of the use of ursodiol in pregnant women, but inadvertent exposure of 4 women to therapeutic doses of the drug in the first trimester of pregnancy during the ursodiol capsules trials led to no evidence of effects on the fetus or newborn baby. Although it seems unlikely, the possibility that ursodiol can cause fetal harm cannot be ruled out; hence, the drug is not recommended for use during pregnancy.
Lactation
Nursing Mothers It is not known whether ursodiol is excreted in human milk. Because many drugs are excreted in human milk, caution should be exercised when ursodiol capsules are administered to a nursing mother.
For breastfeeding, also see LactMed (National Library of Medicine), which summarizes milk levels and infant effects.
Supply and cost
Drug shortage status
Recalls (last 24 months)
Therapeutic equivalence (Orange Book)
Price ladder
Not the price at the counterThese are not what a patient pays at the pharmacy counter. They are what pharmacies, health plans, and government buyers pay, before manufacturer rebates. A patient's cost depends on their insurance (copay, coinsurance, or deductible) or the pharmacy's cash price.