Kaletra

Uses of Kaletra

Kaletra is a combination of two medications: lopinavir and ritonavir. This product is used with other HIV medications to help control HIV infection.

It helps to decrease the amount of HIV in your body so your immune system can work better. This lowers your chance of getting HIV complications (such as new infections, cancer) and improves your quality of life.

Both lopinavir and ritonavir belong to a class of drugs known as HIV protease inhibitors. Ritonavir increases (“boosts”) the levels of lopinavir. This helps lopinavir work better.

Lopinavir/ritonavir is not a cure for HIV infection.

Precautions and Warnings

Kaletra can cause a serious heart problem, especially if you use certain other medicines at the same time. Tell your doctor about all your current medicines and any medicine you start or stop using.

Call your doctor at once if you have a headache with chest pain, fast or pounding heartbeats, and severe dizziness.

Kaletra can make hormonal birth control less effective, including birth control pills, injections, implants, skin patches, and vaginal rings. To prevent pregnancy while using Kaletra, use a barrier form of birth control: condom, diaphragm, cervical cap, or contraceptive sponge.

Talk to your healthcare provider if you are pregnant, you plan to become pregnant, you become pregnant, or think you may be pregnant during treatment with Kaletra. It is not known if Kaletra can harm your unborn baby.

Women with HIV or AIDS should not breastfeed a baby. Even if your baby is born without HIV, the virus may be passed to the baby in your breast milk.

Kaletra is not approved for use by anyone younger than 14 days old. Premature infants should not receive the medication until it has been 14 days after their original due date.

Dosage

Many things can affect the dose of medication that a person needs, such as body weight, other medical conditions, and other medications. If your doctor has recommended a dose different from the ones listed here, do not change the way that you are taking the medication without consulting your doctor.

The usual recommended dose for adults is 400 mg lopinavir and 100 mg ritonavir taken twice daily. If recommended by a doctor, some people may be able to take this medication as a once-daily dose of 800 mg lopinavir and 200 mg ritonavir. People who are pregnant must take the recommended twice-daily dose.

The recommended dose for children between 6 months and 18 years of age is based on body weight or body surface area and will be calculated by the doctor using the child’s weight and height. Children and adolescents less than 18 years of age should take this medication twice daily.

Doses may vary if other medications for HIV are used at the same time.

Side Effects

• Common side effects:
• Diarrhea
• Hyperlipidemia
• Nausea
• Rash
• Abdominal pain
• Nausea
• ALT increased