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Sore throat - acute - Management
What are the general issues when prescribing clarithromycin?
- Clarithromycin may cause gastrointestinal adverse effects (e.g. nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea), but this is less common than with erythromycin [BNF 55, 2008].
- Clarithromycin may cause the combined oral contraceptive pill or patch to fail during the first few weeks of treatment [Baxter, 2006]. Advise women to use additional contraception during the course of treatment and for 7 days afterwards. If this 7-day period runs beyond the end of the pack of contraceptive pills, advise the woman to start a new pack without a break (omitting any inactive tablets) [FFPRHC, 2005; FFPRHC, 2007].
- Advise people taking concomitant warfarin, statins, carbamazepine, theophylline, or aminophylline to seek advice if symptoms of toxicity to these drugs occur during treatment with clarithromycin.
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