Theophylline: profile and news

Ranbaxy in-licenses new asthma drug from Eurodrug Laboratories  16 May 2006
Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and is considered to be superior to available Xanthine analogues, like Theophylline and Aminophylline. ... - NewKerala.com,

Theophylline (aminophylline) and asystole : Case report and a ...  May 4, 2006
We report the use of the non-specific adenosine antagonist theophylline (aminophylline) during a prolonged intraoperative cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR ... - HeartZine,

Customer Data Integration: FAQs and Fiction  May 2, 2006
Jim – is diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and his doctor decides to begin with a course of drug therapy, prescribing theophylline ... - B-EYE-Network,

Meds for Breathing Problems Can Raise Heart Risks  Apr 26, 2006
ISLAMABAD: Of the various drugs that are used to treat respiratory diseases such as asthma, oral steroids and theophylline that are most likely to cause an ... - PakTribune.com,

Off-Label Drug Use  May 2, 2006
Until that drug cleared FDA approval, we used human license drugs such as albuterol, theophylline, and the steroid inhalants beclomethasone and fluticisone. ... - TheHorse.com,

Sleep Aids Have US Ignoring Real Issues  Apr 18, 2006
...corticosteroids, decongestants, diuretics, anticonvulsants, antihypertensives, bronchodilators, MAO inhibitors, thyroid hormone, theophylline, beta blockers ... - The Ledger,

Theophylline interacts with a wide variety of drugs. The interaction may be pharmacodynamic, i.e., alterations in the therapeutic response to theophylline or another drug or occurrence of adverse effects without a change in serum theophylline concentration. More frequently, however, the interaction is pharmacokinetic, i.e., the rate of theophylline clearance is altered by another drug resulting in increased or decreased serum theophylline concentrations. Theophylline only rarely alters the pharmacokinetics of other drugs.

The drugs listed in TABLES 2A and 2B have the potential to produce clinically significant pharmacodynamic or pharmacokinetic interactions with theophylline. The information in the "Effect" column of TABLES 2A and 2B assumes that the interacting drug is being added to a steady-state theophylline regimen. If theophylline is being initiated in a patient who is already taking a drug that inhibits theophylline clearance (e.g., cimetidine, erythromycin), the dose of theophylline required to achieve a therapeutic serum theophylline concentration will be smaller. Conversely, if theophylline is being initiated in a patient who is already taking a drug that enhances theophylline clearance (e.g., rifampin), the dose of theophylline required to achieve a therapeutic serum theophylline concentration will be larger. Discontinuation of a concomitant drug that increases theophylline clearance will result in accumulation of theophylline to potentially toxic levels, unless the theophylline dose is appropriately reduced. Discontinuation of a concomitant drug that inhibits theophylline clearance will result in decreased serum theophylline concentrations, unless the theophylline dose is appropriately increased.

The listing of drugs in TABLES 2A and 2B is current as of April 3, 1995. New interactions are continuously being reported for theophylline, especially with new chemical entities. The clinician should not assume that a drug does not interact with theophylline if it is not listed in TABLES 2A and 2B.Before addition of a newly available drug in a patient receiving theophylline, the package insert of the new drug and/or the medical literature should be consulted to determine if an interaction between the new drug and theophylline has been reported.

TABLE 2A - Clinically significant drug interactions with theophylline*

TABLE 2B - Clinically significant drug interactions with theophylline*

The Effect of Other Drugs on Theophylline Serum Concentration Measurements: Most serum theophylline assays in clinical use are immunoassays which are specific for theophylline. Other xanthines such as caffeine, dyphylline, and pentoxifylline are not detected by these assays. Some drugs (e.g., cefazolin, cephalothin), however, may interfere with certain HPLC techniques. Caffeine and xanthine metabolites in neonates or patients with renal dysfunction may cause the reading from some dry reagent office methods to be higher than the actual serum theophylline concentration.