Drug Interactions Newsletter

Volume 1, Issue 27, 07/22/2009

Question

Are there any known drug interactions between histamine-2 receptor antagonists (H2RA) and clopidogrel (Plavix®) that could compromise the efficacy on platelet inhibition?

Answer

This is part 1 of a 2 part series related to the drug interaction between histamine-2 receptor antagonists (H2RA; cimetidine (Tagamet®), famotidine (Pepcid®; Fluxid ODT®), nizatidine (Axid®), and ranitidine (Zantac®)) and clopidogrel (Plavix®).  This short series is a continuation of a prior series related to the worsening of cardiovascular (CV) related complications related to the coadministration of proton pump inhibitors (PPI) and clopidogrel in patients with drug-eluting stents.(1-3) 

As a reminder, this combination of antiplatelet drug therapy (clopidogrel and aspirin) in patients with drug eluting stents is, unfortunately, known to increase the patient's risk for clinically relevant gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding.(4)  The potential for this adverse event has become increasingly important since the publication of....  

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