September’s pain management coverage examined postoperative nonopioid options, lessons from sickle cell pain research, and pharmacists’ experiences with controlled-substance prescribing.
|Articles|August 18, 2022
Daily Medication Pearl: Ganciclovir Injection
Author(s)Saro Arakelians, PharmD
Ganciclovir injection is a nucleoside analogue cytomegalovirus DNA polymerase inhibitor.
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Medication Pearl of the Day: Ganciclovir Injection
Indication: Ganciclovir injection is a nucleoside analogue cytomegalovirus (CMV) DNA polymerase inhibitor indicated for the treatment of CMV retinitis in immunocompromised adult patients, including patients with AIDS; prevention of CMV disease in adult transplant recipients at risk for CMV disease.
Insight:
- Dosing: 5 mg/kg every 12 hours.
- Dosage forms: Injection 500 mg ganciclovir in 250 mL (2 mg per mL) solution in a single-dose bag for intravenous use.
- Adverse events: Most common adverse reactions and laboratory abnormalities reported in at least 20% of patients were fever, diarrhea, leukopenia, anemia, catheter related events (including catheter infection and catheter sepsis), and elevated creatinine levels.
- Mechanism of action: Ganciclovir is an antiviral drug with activity against CMV.
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