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meclizine (Antivert)

Tradenames: Antivert. Indications: 1) antihistamine 2) prevention & treatment of nausea & vomiting 3) treatment of motion sickness 4) management of vestibular toxicity caused by morphine 5) vertigo 6) Meniere's disease [4] Contraindications: - pregnancy category: B Dosage: 1) vertigo: 25 mg PO every 6 hours PRN 2) motion sickness: 25-50 mg 1 hour prior to exposure 3) 25-50 mg every 8-12 hours PRN 4) maximum 100 mg/day 5) take after meals Tabs: 12,5, 25, 50 mg. Pharmacokinetics: 1) onset of action is about 1 hour 2) duration of action is 8-24 hours 3) 1/2life is approximately 6 hours 4) metabolized by the liver 5) eliminated in the urine & feces Adverse effects: 1) common (> 10%) - slight to moderate drowsiness - thickening of bronchial secretions 2) less common (1-10%) - headache, fatigue, appetite increase, weight increase, nervousness, dizziness, nausea, diarrhea, abdominal pain, dry mouth, pharyngitis, arthralgia 3) uncommon (< 1%) - angioedema, bronchospasm, depression, edema, epistaxis, hepatitis, myalgia, palpitations, paresthesias, photosensitivity, rash, hypotension, sedation, paradoxical excitement, insomnia, tremor, blurred vision, urinary retention 4) other - constipation Drug interactions: 1) other CNS depressants & MAO inhibitors intensify anti- cholinergic effects 2) neuroleptics 3) anticholinergic agents Mechanism of action: 1) histamine H1 receptor antagonist 2) anticholinergic, antiemetic, anesthetic & anti-motion sickness properties 3) depresses excitability & conduction in vestibular-cerebellar pathways

General

anti-emetic neurologic agent

Properties

MISC-INFO: elimination route LIVER pregnancy-category B safety in lactation ?

Database Correlations

PUBCHEM correlations

References

  1. The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics, 9th ed. Gilman et al, eds. Permagon Press/McGraw Hill, 1996
  2. Drug Information & Medication Formulary, Veterans Affairs, Central California Health Care System, 1st ed., Ravnan et al eds, 1998
  3. Kaiser Permanente Northern California Regional Drug Formulary, 1998
  4. Deprecated Reference