Pentopak

Pentopak is a prescription medication used to reduce the symptoms of intermittent claudication (pain in the legs when walking due to narrowing of blood vessels).

This medication may be prescribed for other uses. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Medications can interact with certain foods. In some cases, this may be harmful and your doctor may advise you to avoid certain foods. In the case of Pentopak, there are no specific foods that you must exclude from your diet when receiving this medication.

Take Pentopak exactly as prescribed by your doctor. Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully.

The Pentopak dose your doctor recommends will be based on the following:

• the condition being treated
• other medical conditions you have
• other medications you are taking
• how you respond to this medication
• your age

The recommended dose range for Pentopak (pentoxifylline) is 400 mg three times a day.

Pentoxifylline improves the flow of blood through blood vessels. It is used to reduce leg pain caused by poor blood circulation. Pentoxifylline makes it possible to walk farther before having to rest because of leg cramps.

Pentoxifylline is available only with your doctor's prescription.

In deciding to use a medicine, the risks of taking the medicine must be weighed against the good it will do. This is a decision you and your doctor will make. For this medicine, the following should be considered:

Allergies

Tell your doctor if you have ever had any unusual or allergic reaction to this medicine or any other medicines. Also tell your health care professional if you have any other types of allergies, such as to foods, dyes, preservatives, or animals. For non-prescription products, read the label or package ingredients carefully.

Pediatric

Studies on this medicine have been done only in adult patients, and there is no specific information comparing use of pentoxifylline in children with use in other age groups.

Geriatric

Side effects may be more likely to occur in the elderly, who are usually more sensitive than younger adults to the effects of pentoxifylline.

Pregnancy

Breast Feeding

There are no adequate studies in women for determining infant risk when using this medication during breastfeeding. Weigh the potential benefits against the potential risks before taking this medication while breastfeeding.

Interactions with Medicines

Although certain medicines should not be used together at all, in other cases two different medicines may be used together even if an interaction might occur. In these cases, your doctor may want to change the dose, or other precautions may be necessary. When you are taking this medicine, it is especially important that your healthcare professional know if you are taking any of the medicines listed below. The following interactions have been selected on the basis of their potential significance and are not necessarily all-inclusive.

Using this medicine with any of the following medicines is not recommended. Your doctor may decide not to treat you with this medication or change some of the other medicines you take.

• Ketorolac
• Riociguat

Using this medicine with any of the following medicines is usually not recommended, but may be required in some cases. If both medicines are prescribed together, your doctor may change the dose or how often you use one or both of the medicines.

• Aceclofenac
• Acemetacin
• Adenosine
• Amtolmetin Guacil
• Aspirin
• Bromfenac
• Bufexamac
• Celecoxib
• Choline Salicylate
• Clonixin
• Dexibuprofen
• Dexketoprofen
• Diclofenac
• Diflunisal
• Dipyrone
• Droxicam
• Etodolac
• Etofenamate
• Etoricoxib
• Felbinac
• Fenoprofen
• Fepradinol
• Feprazone
• Floctafenine
• Flufenamic Acid
• Flurbiprofen
• Ibuprofen
• Ibuprofen Lysine
• Indomethacin
• Ketoprofen
• Lornoxicam
• Loxoprofen
• Lumiracoxib
• Meclofenamate
• Mefenamic Acid
• Meloxicam
• Morniflumate
• Nabumetone
• Naproxen
• Nepafenac
• Niflumic Acid
• Nimesulide
• Nimesulide Beta Cyclodextrin
• Oxaprozin
• Oxyphenbutazone
• Parecoxib
• Phenylbutazone
• Piketoprofen
• Piroxicam
• Proglumetacin
• Propionic Acid
• Propyphenazone
• Proquazone
• Regadenoson
• Rofecoxib
• Salicylic Acid
• Salsalate
• Sodium Salicylate
• Sulindac
• Tenoxicam
• Tiaprofenic Acid
• Tolfenamic Acid
• Tolmetin
• Valdecoxib

Using this medicine with any of the following medicines may cause an increased risk of certain side effects, but using both drugs may be the best treatment for you. If both medicines are prescribed together, your doctor may change the dose or how often you use one or both of the medicines.

• Acenocoumarol
• Cimetidine
• Dicumarol
• Theophylline
• Warfarin

Interactions with Food/Tobacco/Alcohol

Certain medicines should not be used at or around the time of eating food or eating certain types of food since interactions may occur. Using alcohol or tobacco with certain medicines may also cause interactions to occur. Discuss with your healthcare professional the use of your medicine with food, alcohol, or tobacco.

Other Medical Problems

The presence of other medical problems may affect the use of this medicine. Make sure you tell your doctor if you have any other medical problems, especially:

• Any condition in which there is a risk of bleeding (e.g., recent stroke)—Pentoxifylline may make the condition worse

• Kidney disease or
• Liver disease—The chance of side effects may be increased

400 mg orally twice a day. If adverse effects develop, reducing the dose to 400 mg once a day is recommended.

Pentoxifylline is preferably given with meals to decrease gastric irritation. Pentoxifylline should be given for at least 8 weeks to determine efficacy.

Pentoxifylline and its metabolites are excreted into human milk. Mean pentoxifylline milk concentrations were 73.9 and 35.7 ng/mL at two and four hours after a pentoxifylline dose, respectively. The manufacturer recommends that due to the potential for serious adverse reactions in nursing infants, a decision should be made to discontinue nursing or discontinue the drug, taking into account the importance of the drug to the mother.

The excretion of pentoxifylline into breast milk was studied in five healthy women at least six weeks post partum. Following oral administration of a 400 mg dose, pentoxifylline milk concentrations ranged from 27.2 to 163 ng/mL and from less than 10 to 67.4 ng/mL at two and four hours post-dose, respectively. The milk to plasma ratio at four hours post-dose ranged from 0.53 to 1.12 (mean 0.87). Major metabolites of pentoxifylline were also present in milk.