abacavir at a glance
Medicine class
Nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI)
Main role
Combination treatment of HIV infection in adults and children
Essential safety test
HLA-B*5701 status must be documented before treatment starts
Food
Tablets may be taken with or without food
What is abacavir used for?
Licensed use represented by the selected product:
Combination antiretroviral treatment of HIV infection in adults, adolescents and children.
How does abacavir work?
Inside cells, abacavir is converted to active carbovir triphosphate. This blocks HIV reverse transcriptase, interrupts formation of viral genetic material and limits replication of HIV-1 and HIV-2.
abacavir preparations and strengths
Tablet
Route: Oral
Strengths: 300 mg
How to take abacavir
Take abacavir exactly as prescribed as part of the complete HIV regimen. Do not stop or restart it without advice from the HIV team.
Tablets can be taken with or without food.
Swallow tablets with water; they should ideally not be crushed.
If tablets are unsuitable, ask the specialist team whether another formulation is appropriate.
Keep the supplied hypersensitivity alert card with you.
abacavir side effects
Common or expected effects
- Headache
- Nausea, vomiting or diarrhoea
- Reduced appetite
- Rash without systemic symptoms
- Fever, tiredness or lethargy
Get urgent medical advice
- Hypersensitivity involving fever or rash with gastrointestinal, respiratory or general symptoms
- Severe blistering or peeling skin reactions
- Symptoms suggesting liver failure or pancreatitis
- Severe unexplained muscle pain, weakness or breathing difficulty
abacavir in pregnancy
Available pregnancy outcomes have not indicated an increased risk of malformations, although abacavir crosses the placenta. HIV treatment should be reviewed by specialist pregnancy and HIV teams. Do not stop established treatment without their advice.
abacavir while breastfeeding
Abacavir passes into human milk. Formula feeding removes the risk of postnatal HIV transmission. If someone with sustained viral suppression wishes to breastfeed, this requires advance discussion and close follow-up by a specialist HIV maternity team.
abacavir interactions
Check all prescribed, non-prescribed and herbal products with the HIV team. Important examples include:
Methadone
Abacavir may increase methadone clearance. Monitor for withdrawal symptoms and arrange clinical review if they occur.
Riociguat
Abacavir may substantially increase riociguat exposure, requiring specialist review of combined use.
Rifampicin, phenobarbital or phenytoin
These enzyme inducers may slightly reduce abacavir concentrations; clinical monitoring may be appropriate.
Retinoids
An interaction is possible through shared alcohol-dehydrogenase metabolism, but it has not been studied.
Common questions about abacavir
Answers are fully visible for fast scanning and source review.
What is abacavir used for?
It is used with other antiretrovirals to treat HIV infection in adults and children.
Why is an HLA-B*5701 test needed?
This gene variant strongly increases the risk of serious abacavir hypersensitivity. People who test positive must not start abacavir.
Sources
These sources were used to prepare and review this medicine page.
Prepared and reviewed by the iatroX editorial team.