VFEND®
Tablets, IV Injection and Oral Suspension
Voriconazole (vori-con-a-zole)
Consumer Medicine Information
NOTICE: This Consumer Medicine Information (CMI) is intended for persons living in Australia. This page contains answers to some common questions about Vfend. It does not contain all the information that is known about Vfend. It does not take the place of talking to your doctor or pharmacist. All medicines have risks and benefits. Your doctor has weighed the risk of you using this medicine against the benefits he/she expects it will have for you. If you have any concerns about using this medicine, ask your doctor or pharmacist. Bookmark or print this page, you may need to read it again.

What VFEND is used for
VFEND is used to treat fungal and yeast infections such as:
invasive aspergillosis (as-pur-ji-losis), a fungal infection caused by a fungus called Aspergillus (as-pur-jilus), which usually begins in the respiratory tract (in the nose, sinuses or lungs). Aspergillus is harmless in most healthy people; however, in people with poor immune systems (such as people who have had organ transplants and people with cancer or HIV/AIDS) invasive aspergillosis can be serious and spread to other tissues and organs
serious Candida (can-did-da) infections, including Candida infections of the food pipe and those that have spread into the blood stream or to other parts of the body
serious fungal infections caused by Scedosporium (ski-doe-spore-rium) species and Fusarium (few-saa-rium) species
other serious fungal infections in patients who do not respond to, or cannot tolerate, other antifungal medicines.
This medicine belongs to a group of medicines called triazole antifungals.
This medicine works by preventing the growth of fungal and yeast organisms causing your infection.
Ask your doctor if you have any questions about why this medicine has been prescribed for you.
Your doctor may have prescribed it for another reason.
This medicine is not addictive.
This medicine is available only with a doctor's prescription.
Before you start to use it
When you must not use it
Do not take VFEND if you have ever had an allergy to:
any medicine containing voriconazole
any of the ingredients listed at the end of this leaflet
any other similar medicines.
Symptoms of an allergic reaction may include shortness of breath, wheezing or difficulty breathing; swelling of the face, lips, tongue or other parts of the body; skin rash, itching or hives.
Do not take VFEND if you are taking any of the following medicines:
pimozide (e.g. Orap), a medicine used to treat mental illness
quinidine (e.g. Kinidin Durules), a medicine used to treat irregular heartbeat
rifampicin (e.g. Rifadin, Rimycin), a medicine used to treat tuberculosis
carbamazepine (e.g. Tegretol, Teril), a medicine used to treat seizures
long-acting barbiturates such as phenobarbitone, medicines used to treat severe insomnia and seizures
ergotamine (e.g. Cafergot) or dihydroergotamine (e.g. Dihydergot), medicines used to treat migraine
sirolimus (e.g. Rapamune), a medicine used in transplant patients
efavirenz (e.g. Stocrin) a medicine used to treat HIV infection; some doses of efavirenz can be taken with VFEND, but you must check with your doctor first
ritonavir (e.g. Norvir, Kaletra) (a medicine used to treat HIV infection) in doses of 400 mg or more twice a day
St John's wort (a herbal medicine).
VFEND should not be