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Recorlev (Oral)

Generic name: levoketoconazole [ lee-voe-kee-toe-KON-a-zole ]
Drug class: Adrenal corticosteroid inhibitors

Medically reviewed by Drugs.com. Last updated on Sep 26, 2023.

Oral route(Tablet)

Hepatotoxicity

Cases of hepatotoxicity with a fatal outcome or requiring liver transplantation have been reported with the use of oral ketoconazole. Some patients had no obvious risk factors for liver disease. Serious hepatotoxicity has been reported in patients receiving levoketoconazole.

Levoketoconazole is contraindicated in patients with cirrhosis, acute liver disease or poorly controlled chronic liver disease, recurrent symptomatic cholelithiasis, a prior history of drug induced liver injury to ketoconazole or any azole antifungal therapy that required discontinuation of treatment, or extensive metastatic liver disease.

Evaluate liver enzymes prior to and during treatment. Interrupt levoketoconazole treatment immediately if signs of hepatotoxicity occur.

QT Prolongation

Levoketoconazole is associated with dose-related QT interval prolongation. QT interval prolongation may lead to life-threatening ventricular dysrhythmias such as torsades de pointes.

Coadministration of levoketoconazole with other drugs that prolong the QT interval associated with ventricular arrhythmias, including torsades de pointes, and use in patients with a prolonged QTcF interval of greater than 470 msec at baseline, history of torsades de pointes, ventricular tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation, or long QT syndrome (including first-degree family history) are contraindicated.

Perform an ECG and correct hypokalemia and hypomagnesemia prior to and during treatment. Temporarily discontinue levoketoconazole if QTcF interval exceeds 500 msec .

Uses for Recorlev

Levoketoconazole is used to treat endogenous hypercortisolemia (high cortisol levels) in patients with Cushing's syndrome who cannot have surgery or who had surgery that did not work well.

This medicine is available only with your doctor's prescription.

Before using Recorlev

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

Appropriate studies have not been performed on the relationship of age to the effects of levoketoconazole in the pediatric population. Safety and efficacy have not been established.

Geriatric

Appropriate studies performed to date have not demonstrated geriatric-specific problems that would limit the usefulness of levoketoconazole in the elderly.

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.

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.

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. 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 is usually not recommended, but may be unavoidable in some cases. If used together, your doctor may change the dose or how often you use this medicine, or give you special instructions about the use of 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:

Proper use of Recorlev

Take this medicine exactly as directed by your doctor. Do not take more of it, do not take it more often, and do not take it for a longer time than your doctor ordered. To do so may increase the chance for unwanted effects.

This medicine should come with a patient information leaflet. Read and follow these instructions carefully. Ask your doctor if you have any questions.

You may take this medicine with or without food.

Do not take carbamazepine, efavirenz, isoniazid, mifepristone, mitotane, nevirapine, phenytoin, rifabutin, rifampicin, ritonavir, ritonavir-boosted darunavir, and ritonavir-boosted fosamprenavir 2 weeks before and during treatment with levoketoconazole.

Take antacids (eg, aluminum hydroxide) at least 2 hours after you take this medicine.

Do not drink alcohol while you are using this medicine.

Dosing

The dose of this medicine will be different for different patients. Follow your doctor's orders or the directions on the label. The following information includes only the average doses of this medicine. If your dose is different, do not change it unless your doctor tells you to do so.

The amount of medicine that you take depends on the strength of the medicine. Also, the number of doses you take each day, the time allowed between doses, and the length of time you take the medicine depend on the medical problem for which you are using the medicine.

Missed Dose

If you miss a dose of this medicine, skip the missed dose and go back to your regular dosing schedule. Do not double doses.

Storage

Store the medicine in a closed container at room temperature, away from heat, moisture, and direct light. Keep from freezing.

Keep out of the reach of children.

Do not keep outdated medicine or medicine no longer needed.

Ask your healthcare professional how you should dispose of any medicine you do not use.

Detailed Recorlev dosage information

Precautions while using Recorlev

It is very important that your doctor check your progress at regular visits to make sure that this medicine is working properly. Blood and urine tests may be needed to check for unwanted effects.

Using this medicine while you are pregnant can harm your unborn baby. Use an effective form of birth control to keep from getting pregnant during treatment with this medicine. If you think you have become pregnant while using this medicine, tell your doctor right away.

You should not use this medicine together with alfentanil (Alfenta®), avanafil (Stendra®), bosutinib (Bosulif®), buspirone (Buspar®), cisapride (Prepulsid®), clarithromycin (Biaxin®), cobimetinib (Cotellic™), conivaptan (Vaprisol®), crizotinib (Xalkori®), dabigatran (Pradaxa®), darifenacin (Enablex®), darunavir (Prezista®), digoxin (Lanoxin®), disopyramide (Norpace®), dofetilide (Tikosyn®), dronedarone (Multaq®), ebastine (Ebast®), eliglustat (Cerdelga®), everolimus (Afinitor®), fexofenadine (Allegra®), ibrutinib (Imburvica™), ivabradine (Corlanor®), lomitapide (Juxtapid®), lovastatin (Mevacor®), lurasidone (Latuda®), methadone (Methadose®), midazolam (Versed®), midostaurin (Rydapt®), naloxegol (Alfenta®), nicardipine (Cardene®), nisoldipine (Alfenta®), pimozide (Alfenta®), quinidine (Alfenta®), ranolazine (Movantik®), saquinavir (Invirase®), simvastatin (Zocor®), sirolimus (Rapamune®), tacrolimus (Astagraf XL®), tipranavir (Aptivus®), triazolam (Halcion®), or vardenafil (Levitra®).

Check with your doctor right away if you have pain or tenderness in the upper stomach, pale stools, dark urine, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, or yellow eyes or skin. These could be symptoms of a serious liver problem.

This medicine may cause heart rhythm problems (eg, QT prolongation). Check with your doctor right away if you have chest pain or discomfort, fainting, irregular or slow heart rate, or trouble breathing.

Check with your doctor right away if you have darkening of the skin, diarrhea, dizziness, fainting, loss of appetite, mental depression, nausea, skin rash, unusual tiredness or weakness, or vomiting. These may be symptoms of adrenal gland problems (eg, low cortisol levels).

This medicine may cause serious allergic reactions, which can be life-threatening and require immediate medical attention. Check with your doctor right away if you have chest tightness, cough, difficulty swallowing, dizziness, fast heartbeat, hives, itching, skin rash, puffiness or swelling of the eyelids or around the eyes, face, lips, or tongue, or unusual tiredness or weakness.

This medicine may decrease testosterone levels in men and women. Check with your doctor right away if you have decreased interest in sexual intercourse, inability to have or keep an erection, loss in sexual ability, desire, drive, or performance, mood changes swelling of the breasts or breast soreness.

Some men and women who use this medicine have become infertile (unable to have children). Talk with your doctor before using this medicine if you plan to have children.

Do not take other medicines unless they have been discussed with your doctor. This includes prescription or nonprescription (over-the-counter [OTC]) medicines and herbal or vitamin supplements.

Side Effects of Recorlev

Along with its needed effects, a medicine may cause some unwanted effects. Although not all of these side effects may occur, if they do occur they may need medical attention.

Check with your doctor immediately if any of the following side effects occur:

More common

Less common

Incidence not known

Some side effects may occur that usually do not need medical attention. These side effects may go away during treatment as your body adjusts to the medicine. Also, your health care professional may be able to tell you about ways to prevent or reduce some of these side effects. Check with your health care professional if any of the following side effects continue or are bothersome or if you have any questions about them:

More common

Incidence not known

Other side effects not listed may also occur in some patients. If you notice any other effects, check with your healthcare professional.

Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to the FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

Recorlev side effects (more detail)

Commonly used brand name(s)

In the U.S.

Available Dosage Forms:

Therapeutic Class: Steroid Synthesis Inhibitor

Chemical Class: Imidazole

Further information

Always consult your healthcare provider to ensure the information displayed on this page applies to your personal circumstances.

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