Drug Interaction Report

GENERALLY AVOID: Alcohol may potentiate some of the pharmacologic effects of zolpidem. Use in combination may result in additive central nervous system depression and/or impairment of judgment, thinking, and psychomotor skills.

ADJUST DOSING INTERVAL: Administration of zolpidem with food may delay the onset of hypnotic effects. In 30 healthy subjects, administration of zolpidem 20 minutes after a meal resulted in decreased mean peak plasma drug concentration (Cmax) and area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) by 25% and 15%, respectively, compared to fasting. The time to reach peak plasma drug concentration (Tmax) was prolonged by 60%, from 1.4 to 2.2 hours.

MANAGEMENT: Patients receiving zolpidem should be advised to avoid the consumption of alcohol. For faster sleep onset, zolpidem should not be administered with or immediately after a meal.

MONITOR: Concomitant use of asparaginase with other hepatotoxic agents may potentiate the risk of liver injury. Asparaginase-associated hepatotoxicity has been reported more commonly in adults than in children and has been strongly associated with obesity. Hepatomegaly, acute severe hepatotoxicity, and fatal liver failure have been reported with asparaginase treatment in adults. Also, asparaginase may increase the toxicity of drugs bound to plasma proteins or metabolized by the liver.

MANAGEMENT: The risk of additive hepatotoxicity should be considered when asparaginase is used with other hepatotoxic agents (e.g., alcohol, androgens, antituberculosis agents, azole antifungal agents, ACE inhibitors, macrolide antibiotics, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents, nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, sulfonamides, thiazolidinediones, and statins). Liver function tests should be monitored at regular intervals during asparaginase treatment with or without other hepatotoxic drugs. Patients should be advised to seek medical attention if they experience potential symptoms of hepatotoxicity such as right upper quadrant pain, increasing abdominal size, fever, rash, itching, anorexia, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, malaise, dark urine, pale stools, and jaundice.