When two or more
medicines are taken together, it can change how the medicines work and increase the risk of side-effects. In medical terms, this is called as a
Drug Interaction.
Rosuvastatin interacts with
protease inhibitors, which are used for the treatment of HIV/AIDS and
hepatitis C. The use of Rosuvastatin along with specific protease inhibitors has different effects on its absorption rate.
Simeprevir, which is a
hepatitis C virus protease inhibitor, or atazanavir/ritonavir and lopinavir/ritonavir combinations, which are HIV-1 protease inhibitors, increase the absorption of Rosuvastatin and its level in blood up to threefold. When Rosuvastatin is given in combination with protease inhibitors, the dose of Rosuvastatin should not exceed 10 mg once a day. The combinations of fosamprenavir/ritonavir or tipranavir/ritonavir, which are HIV-1 protease inhibitors, produce little or no change in the absorption of Rosuvastatin. Caution should be used when Rosuvastatin is given in combination with protease inhibitors.
There may be an interaction of
Rosuvastatin with
gemfibrozil, which is used to lower the level of
lipids. The absorption of gemfibrozil is significantly increased by
Rosuvastatin. Also, the use of these drugs together resulted in a 2-fold increase in Rosuvastatin levels in the blood. Due to an increased risk of muscle disease (
myopathy) and breakdown of damaged muscles (
rhabdomyolysis), the combination treatment with Rosuvastatin and gemfibrozil should be avoided. If both the drugs are used together, the dose of Rosuvastatin should not exceed 10 mg once a day.
Rosuvastatin may interact with
cyclosporine, which is used as an immunosuppressant. The use of
Rosuvastatin and
cyclosporine in combination increased the amount of Rosuvastatin in blood by 7-fold. The use of Rosuvastatin is not recommended in patients who are also on treatment with
cyclosporin. If this treatment is necessary, the dose of Rosuvastatin should not be exceeded by 5 mg once a day.
Your doctor's guidelines may need to be followed while taking this medicine along with
niacin, which is a
vitamin and also used along with other
lipid lowering drugs. The risk of skeletal muscle effects may be increased when
Rosuvastatin is used in combination with lipid-modifying doses of 1 g/day of niacin. Take necessary precautions while using niacin with Rosuvastatin.
Special instructions need to be followed while taking this medicine along with
coumarin anticoagulants, which are used to prevent clotting of blood.
Rosuvastatin significantly increases INR which is how long blood takes to clot in patients who are on coumarin anticoagulants treatment. Caution should be used when coumarin anticoagulants are given in combination with Rosuvastatin. In such patients, INR should be determined before beginning Rosuvastatin therapy and frequently during early treatment to ensure that no significant change of INR takes place.
Your doctor's guidelines may need to be followed while taking this medicine along with
erythromycin, which is used for the treatment of bacterial infections. The use of
Rosuvastatin and erythromycin together has resulted in a decrease in the levels of Rosuvastatin in the blood. This interaction may be caused by an increase in the abnormal contractions of the intestine.
Special instructions need to be followed while taking this medicine along with
antacids, which are used to treat acidity. The treatment with
Rosuvastatin and an
antacid suspension containing
aluminum and
magnesium hydroxide has resulted in a decrease in the levels of Rosuvastatin in the blood. This effect was decreased when the antacid was given after 2 hours of Rosuvastatin.
Rosuvastatin interacts with
ezetimibe, which is used to lower the levels of
cholesterol in the blood. The use of 10 mg of Rosuvastatin with 10 mg of ezetimibe resulted in an increase in the blood level of Rosuvastatin in patients with high
cholesterol levels.
There may be an interaction of
Rosuvastatin with
colchicine, which is used for the treatment of
gout. The combined use of
Rosuvastatin with colchicine may lead to an emergence of muscle diseases (
myopathy), including the breakdown of damaged skeletal muscles (
rhabdomyolysis). Necessary precautions are to be made when Rosuvastatin is prescribed with colchicine.
Rosuvastatin may interact with
fenofibrate, which is used to reduce the levels of
cholesterol in the blood. When
Rosuvastatin is given in combination with fenofibrate, no clinically significant increase in the level of rosuvastatin or fenofibrate in the blood was seen. The risk of muscle disease (
myopathy) during treatment with HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors is increased with simultaneous use of fenofibrate. Caution should be
exercised when fenofibrate is prescribed with Rosuvastatin.
Rosuvastatin interacts with fusidic acid, which is an
antibiotic used in the treatment of inflammation of the skin, hair follicles, and infections of the skin. The risk of muscle diseases (
myopathy), including the breakdown of damaged skeletal muscles (
rhabdomyolysis) may be increased when Rosuvastatin is given together with systemic fusidic acid. If the treatment with systemic fusidic acid is necessary, therapy with Rosuvastatin should be discontinued as long as treatment with fusidic acid is required.
There may be an interaction of
Rosuvastatin with oral contraceptives, which are used as birth control measures and
hormone replacement therapy (
HRT), is a form of
hormone therapy used to treat symptoms related to
menopause in women. The use of
Rosuvastatin with oral contraceptives has resulted in an increased level of
ethinyl estradiol and
norgestrel in the blood. These increased levels of drugs in the blood should be considered while selecting the doses of oral
contraceptive.
Rosuvastatin may interact with
vitamin K antagonists, which are used for clotting of blood. Patients using
vitamin K antagonists with
Rosuvastatin are at risk of an increase in International Normalised Ratio, which is the time that blood takes to clot. Discontinuation of such treatment or decrease in dosage of Rosuvastatin may result in a reduction in INR. In such cases, proper monitoring of INR is advisable.
This page does not contain all the possible interactions of Rosuvastatin. Share a list of all medicines that you use with your doctor and pharmacist. Do not start, stop, or change the dose of any
medicines without the approval of your doctor.