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Dosing and Administration

Available in a full range of dosage strengths
Avapro and Avalide: Avaliable in a full range of dosage strengths
Tablets shown are not actual size.


AVAPRO

DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION
AVAPRO may be administered with other antihypertensive agents and with or without food.
Hypertension
The recommended initial dose of AVAPRO is 150 mg once daily. Patients requiring further reduction in blood pressure should be titrated to 300 mg once daily.

A low dose of a diuretic may be added, if blood pressure is not controlled by AVAPRO alone. Hydrochlorothiazide has been shown to have an additive effect (see CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY: Clinical Studies in full Prescribing Information). Patients not adequately treated by the maximum dose of 300 mg once daily are unlikely to derive additional benefit from a higher dose or twice-daily dosing.

No dosage adjustment is necessary in elderly patients, or in patients with hepatic impairment or mild to severe renal impairment.
Nephropathy in Type 2 Diabetic Patients
The recommended target maintenance dose is 300 mg once daily. There are no data on the clinical effects of lower doses of AVAPRO on diabetic nephropathy (see CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY: Clinical Studies in full Prescribing Information).
Volume- and Salt-Depleted Patients
A lower initial dose of AVAPRO (irbesartan) (75 mg) is recommended in patients with depletion of intravascular volume or salt (eg, patients treated vigorously with diuretics or on hemodialysis) (see WARNINGS: Hypotension in Volume- or Salt-Depleted Patients in full Prescribing Information).

AVALIDE

DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION
General Considerations
The side effects of irbesartan are generally rare and apparently independent of dose; those of hydrochlorothiazide are a mixture of dose-dependent (primarily hypokalemia) and dose-independent phenomena (eg, pancreatitis), the former much more common than the latter. (See ADVERSE REACTIONS (6) in full Prescribing Information).

Maximum antihypertensive effects are attained within 2 to 4 weeks after a change in dose.

AVALIDE may be administered with or without food.

AVALIDE may be administered with other antihypertensive agents.

Renal impairment. The usual regimens of therapy with AVALIDE may be followed as long as the patient's creatinine clearance is >30 mL/min. In patients with more severe renal impairment, loop diuretics are preferred to thiazides, so AVALIDE is not recommended.

Hepatic impairment. No dosage adjustment is necessary in patients with hepatic impairment.

Add-On Therapy
In patients not controlled on monotherapy with irbesartan or hydrochlorothiazide, the recommended doses of AVALIDE, in order of increasing mean effect, are (irbesartan-hydrochlorothiazide)150/12.5 mg, 300/12.5 mg, and 300/25 mg. The largest incremental effect will likely be in the transition from monotherapy to 150/12.5 mg. (See CLINICAL STUDIES (14.2) in full Prescribing Information).
Replacement Therapy
AVALIDE may be substituted for the titrated components.
Initial Therapy
The usual starting dose is AVALIDE 150/12.5 mg once daily. The dosage can be increased after 1 to 2 weeks of therapy to a maximum of one 300/25 mg tablet once daily as needed to control blood pressure (See CLINICAL STUDIES (14.2) in full Prescribing Information). AVALIDE is not recommended as initial therapy in patients with intravascular volume depletion (see WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS (5.2) in full Prescribing Information).


WARNING: USE IN PREGNANCY
When pregnancy is detected, discontinue AVAPRO or AVALIDE as soon as possible. When used in pregnancy during the second and third trimesters, drugs that act directly on the renin-angiotensin system can cause injury and even death to the developing fetus. [See Warnings and Precautions: Fetal/Neonatal Morbidity and Mortality in the full Prescribing Information.]