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Patients should be advised that current antiretroviral therapy has not been proven to prevent the risk of transmission of HIV to others through blood or sexual contact. Appropriate precautions should continue to be employed.
Co-administration of REYATAZ with ritonavir at doses greater than 100 mg once daily has not been clinically eva luated. The use of higher ritonavir doses may alter the safety profile of atazanavir (cardiac effects, hyperbilirubinaemia) and therefore is not recommended. Only when atazanavir with ritonavir is co-administered with efavirenz, a dose increase of ritonavir to 200 mg once daily could be considered. In this instance, close clinical monitoring is warranted (see Interaction with other Medicinal Products below).
Patients with coexisting conditions
Atazanavir is primarily hepatically metabolised and increased plasma concentrations were observed in patients with hepatic impairment (see sections 4.2 and 4.3). The safety and efficacy of REYATAZ has not been established in patients with significant underlying liver disorders. Patients with chronic hepatitis B or C and treated with combination antiretroviral therapy are at an increased risk for severe and potentially fatal hepatic adverse reactions. In case of concomitant antiviral therapy for hepatitis B or C, please refer also to the relevant Summary of Product Characteristics for these medicinal products (see section 4.8).
Patients with pre-existing liver dysfunction, including chronic active hepatitis, have an increased frequency of liver function abnormalities during combination antiretroviral therapy and should be monitored according to standard practice. If there is evidence of worsening liver disease in such patients, interruption or discontinuation of treatment must be considered.
No dosage adjustment is needed in patients with renal impairment. However, REYATAZ with ritonavir is not recommended in patients undergoing haemodialysis (see sections 4.2 and 5.2).
Dose related asymptomatic prolongations in PR interval with REYATAZ have been observed in clinical studies. Caution should be used with medicinal products known to induce PR prolongations. In patients with pre-existing conduction problems (second degree or higher atrioventricular or complex bundle-branch block), REYATAZ should be used with caution and only if the benefits exceed the risk (see section 5.1). Particular caution should be used when prescribing REYATAZ in association with medicinal products which have the potential to increase the QT interval and/or in patients with pre-existing risk factors (bradycardia, long congenital QT, electrolyte imbalances (see sections 4.8 and 5.3).
There have been reports of increased bleeding, including spontaneous skin haematomas and haemarthroses, in type A and B haemophiliac patients treated with protease inhibitors. In some patients additional factor VIII was given. In more than half of the reported cases, treatment with protease inhibitors was continued or reintroduced if treatment had been discontinued. A causal relationship has been suggested, although the mechanism of action has not been elucidated. Haemophiliac patients should therefore be made aware of the possibility of increased bleeding.
Fat redistribution and metabolic disorders
Combination antiretroviral therapy has been associated with the redistribution of body fat (lipodystrophy) in HIV patients. The long-term consequences of these events are currently unknown. Knowledge about the mechanism is incomplete. A connection between visceral lipomatosis and protease inhibitors and lipoatrophy and nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors has been hypothesised. A higher risk of lipodystrophy has been associated with individual factors such as older age, and with drug related factors such as longer duration of antiretroviral treatment and associated metabolic disturbances. Clinical examination should include eva luation for physical signs of fat redistribution.
Combination antiretroviral therapy (CART), including REYATAZ (with or without ritonavir)-based CART, is associated with dyslipidaemia. Consideration should be given to the measurement of fasting serum lipids and blood glucose. Lipid disorders should be managed as clinically appropriate (see section 4.8).
In clinical studies, REYATAZ (with or without ritonavir) has been shown to induce dyslipidaemia to a lesser extent than comparators. The clinical impact of such findings has not been demonstrated in the absence of specific studies on cardiovascular risk. The selection of antiretroviral therapy must be guided principally by antiviral efficacy. Consultation with standard guidelines for management of dyslipidaemia is recommended.
Hyperglycaemia
New onset diabetes mellitus, hyperglycaemia, and exacerbation of existing diabetes mellitus have been reported in patients receiving protease inhibitors. In some of these, the hyperglycaemia was severe and in some cases also associated with ketoacidosis. Many patients had confounding medical conditions, some of which required therapy with medicinal products that have been associated with development of diabetes or hyperglycaemia.
Hyperbilirubinaemia
Reversible elevations in indirect (unconjugated) bilirubin related to inhibition of UDP-glucuronosyl transferase (UGT) have occurred in patients receiving REYATAZ (see section 4.8). Hepatic transaminase elevations that occur with elevated bilirubin in patients receiving REYATAZ should be eva luated for alternative etiologies. Alternative antiretroviral therapy to REYATAZ may be considered if jaundice or scleral icterus is unacceptable to a patient. Dose reduction of atazanavir is not recommended because it may result in a loss of therapeutic effect and development of resistance.
Indinavir is also associated with indirect (unconjugated) hyperbilirubinaemia due to inhibition of UGT. Combinations of REYATAZ and indinavir have not been studied and co-administration of these medicinal products is not recommended (see section 4.5).
Nephrolithiasis
Nephrolithiasis has been reported in patients receiving REYATAZ (see section 4.8). If signs or symptoms of nephrolithiasis occur, temporary interruption or discontinuation of treatment may be considered.
Immune reactivation syndrome
In HIV-infected patients with severe immune deficiency at the time of institution of combination antiretroviral therapy (CART), an inflammatory reaction to asymptomatic or residual opportunistic pathogens may arise and cause serious clinical conditions, or aggravation of symptoms. Typically, such reactions have been observed within the first few weeks or months of initiation of CART. Relevant examples are cytomegalovirus retinitis, generalised and/or focal mycobacterial infections, and Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia. Any inflammatory symptoms should be eva luated and treatment instituted when necessary.
Osteonecrosis
Although the etiology is considered to be multifactorial (including corticosteroid use, alcohol consumption, severe immunosuppression, higher body mass index), cases of osteonecrosis have been reported particularly in patients with advanced HIV-disease and/or long-term exposure to combination antiretroviral therapy (CART). Patients should be advised to seek medical advice if they experience joint aches and pain, joint stiffness or difficulty in movement.
Rash and associated syndromes
Rashes are usually mild -to-moderate maculopapular skin eruptions that occur within the first 3 weeks of starting therapy with REYATAZ.
Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS), erythema multiforme, toxic skin eruptions and drug rash with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS) syndrome have been reported in patients receiving REYATAZ. Patients should be advised of the signs and symptoms and monitored closely for skin reactions. REYATAZ should be discontinued if severe rash develops.
The best results in managing these events come from early diagnosis and immediate interruption of any suspect medicines. If the patient has developed SJS or DRESS associated with the use of REYATAZ, REYATAZ may not be restarted.
Interactions with other medicinal products
Co-administration of REYATAZ with simvastatin or lovastatin is not recommended (see section 4.5).
Co-administration of REYATAZ with nevirapine or efavirenz is not recommended (see section 4.5).
If the co-administration of REYATAZ with an NNRTI is required, an increase in the dose of both REYATAZ and ritonavir to 400 mg and 200 mg, respectively, in combination with efavirenz could be considered with close clinical monitoring.
Atazanavir is metabolised principally by CYP3A4. Co-administration of REYATAZ with ritonavir and medicinal products that induce CYP3A4 is not recommended (see sections 4.3 and 4.5).
PDE5 inhibitors used for the treatment of erectile dysfunction: particular caution should be used when prescribing PDE5-inhibitors (sildenafil, tadalafil, or vardenafil) for the treatment of erectile dysfunction in patients receiving REYATAZ with concomitant low-dose ritonavir. Co-administration of REYATAZ with these medicinal products is expected to substantially increase their concentrations and may result in PDE5-associated adverse events such as hypotension, visual changes and priapism (see section 4.5).
Co-administration of voriconazole and REYATAZ with ritonavir is not recommended unless an assessment of the benefit/risk justifies the use of voriconazole (see section 4.5).
Concomitant use of REYATAZ/ritonavir and fluticasone or other glucocorticoids that are metabolized by CYP3A4 is not recommended unless the potential benefit of treatment outweighs the risk of systemic corticosteroid effects, including Cushing's syndrome and adrenal suppression (see section 4.5).
Concomitant use of salmeterol and REYATAZ/ritonavir may result in increased cardiovascular adverse events associated with salmeterol. Co-administration of salmeterol and REYATAZ is not recommended (see section 4.5).
The absorption of atazanavir may be reduced in situations where gastric pH is increased irrespective of cause.
Co-administration of REYATAZ with proton pump inhibitors is not recommended (see section 4.5). If the combination of REYATAZ with a proton pump inhibitor is judged unavoidable, close clinical monitoring is recommended in combination with an increase in the dose of REYATAZ to 400 mg with 100 mg of ritonavir; doses of proton pump inhibitors comparable to omeprazole 20 mg should not be exceeded.
Co-administration of REYATAZ/ritonavir in combination with tenofovir and an H2-receptor antagonist should be avoided (see section 4.5).
Lactose
Patients with rare hereditary problems of galactose intolerance, the Lapp lactase deficiency or glucose-galactose malabsorption should not take this medicinal product.
Paediatric population
Safety
Asymptomatic PR interval prolongation was more frequent in paediatric patients than adults. Asymptomatic first- and second-degree AV block was reported in paediatric patients (see section 4.8). Caution should be used with medicinal products known to induce PR prolongations. In paediatric patients with pre-existing conduction problems (second degree or higher atrioventricular or complex bundle-branch block), REYATAZ should be used with caution and only if the benefits exceed the risk. Cardiac monitoring is recommended based on the presence of clinical findings (e.g., bradycardia).
Efficacy
Atazanavir/ritonavir is not effective in viral strains harbouring multiple mutations of resistance. While in adults no benefit can be expected in patients with  4 PI mutations, in treatment experienced children even lower numbers of PI mutations may be predictive of a lack of benefit (see section 5.1).
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”, no change as “↔”). If available, 90% confidence intervals (CI) are shown in parentheses. The studies presented in Table 2 were conducted in healthy subjects unless otherwise noted. Of importance, many studies were conducted with unboosted atazanavir, which is not the approved regimen of atazanavir.
