What happens if I overdose Losacard?
Contact 1-800-222-1222 (the American Association of Poison Control Centers), your local poison control center, or emergency room immediately. Symptoms may include fainting; fast or slow heartbeat; light-headedness; severe dizziness.
Proper storage of Losacard:
Store Losacard at room temperature, between 59 and 86 degrees F (15 and 30 degrees C). Store away from heat, moisture, and light. Do not store in the bathroom. If your pharmacist prepares a suspension of Losacard, store as directed by your pharmacist. Keep Losacard out of the reach of children and away from pets.
Overdose of Losacard in details
Symptoms: Significant lethality was observed in mice and rats after oral administration of 1000 mg/kg and 2000 mg/kg, respectively, about 44 and 170 times the maximum recommended human dose on a mg/m2 basis.
Limited data are available in regard to overdosage in humans. The most likely manifestation of overdosage would be hypotension and tachycardia; bradycardia could occur from parasympathetic (vagal) stimulation.
Treatment: If symptomatic hypotension should occur, supportive treatment should be instituted. Measures are depending on the time of drug intake and kind and severity of symptoms. Stabilisation of the cardiovascular system should be given priority. After oral intake, the administration of a sufficient dose of activated charcoal is indicated. Afterwards, close monitoring of the vital parameters should be performed. Vital parameters should be corrected if necessary.
Neither Losacard nor its active metabolite can be removed by hemodialysis.
What should I avoid while taking Losacard?
Drinking alcohol can further lower your blood pressure and may increase certain side effects of Losacard.
Do not use potassium supplements or salt substitutes while you are taking Losacard, unless your doctor has told you to.
Avoid getting up too fast from a sitting or lying position, or you may feel dizzy. Get up slowly and steady yourself to prevent a fall.
Losacard warnings
In deciding to use a medicine, the risks of taking the medicine must be weighed against the good it will do. This is a decision you and your doctor will make. For Losacard, the following should be considered:
Pediatric
Studies on Losacard have been done only in adult patients, and there is no specific information comparing use of Losacard in children younger than 6 years of age with use in other age groups.
Geriatric
Losacard has been tested in a limited number of patients 65 years of age or older and has not been shown to cause different side effects or problems in older people than it does in younger adults.
Pregnancy
Pregnancy Category D:
Studies in pregnant women have demonstrated a risk to the fetus. However, the benefits of therapy in a life threatening situation or a serious disease, may outweigh the potential risk.
Breast Feeding
There are no adequate studies in women for determining infant risk when using this medication during breastfeeding. Weigh the potential benefits against the potential risks before taking this medication while breastfeeding.
Check with your doctor immediately if you think that you may be pregnant. Losacard may cause birth defects or other problems in the baby if taken during pregnancy.
It is important that your doctor check your progress at regular visits to make sure that Losacard is working properly and to check for unwanted effects.
Do not take other medicines unless they have been discussed with your doctor. This especially includes over-the-counter (nonprescription) medicines for appetite control, asthma, colds, cough, hay fever, or sinus problems, since they may tend to increase your blood pressure.
Dizziness or lightheadedness may occur after the first dose of Losacard, especially if you have been taking a diuretic (water pill). Make sure you know how you react to Losacard before you drive, use machines, or do anything else that could be dangerous if you are dizzy.
Check with your doctor right away if you become sick while taking Losacard, especially with severe or continuing nausea and vomiting or diarrhea. These conditions may cause you to lose too much water and lead to low blood pressure.
Dizziness, lightheadedness, or fainting may also occur if you exercise or if the weather is hot. Heavy sweating can cause loss of too much water and result in low blood pressure. Use extra care during exercise or hot weather.
Avoid alcoholic beverages until you have discussed their use with your doctor. Alcohol may make the low blood pressure effect worse and/or increase the possibility of dizziness or fainting.
What should I discuss with my healthcare provider before taking Losacard?
You should not use Losacard if you are allergic to Losacard.
If you have diabetes, do not use Losacard together with any medication that contains aliskiren (Amturnide, Tekturna, Tekamlo).
You may also need to avoid taking Losacard with aliskiren if you have kidney disease.
Do not use if you are pregnant. If you become pregnant, stop taking this medicine and tell your doctor right away. Losacard can cause injury or death to the unborn baby if you take the medicine during your second or third trimester.
To make sure Losacard is safe for you, tell your doctor if you have:
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kidney disease;
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liver disease;
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congestive heart failure;
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an electrolyte imbalance (such as high levels of potassium in your blood);
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if you are on a low-salt diet; or
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if you are dehydrated.
It is not known whether Losacard passes into breast milk or if it could harm a nursing baby. You should not breast-feed while using this medicine.
Losacard is not approved for use by anyone younger than 6 years old.
Losacard precautions
Monitoring of Blood Chemistry: Orthostatic hypotension may develop with the use of Losacard in patients with volume depletion. Volume depletion should then be corrected before the start of treatment with Losacard. A low initial dose of Losacard is therefore recommended.
The level of serum potassium and creatinine must be monitored at least once or twice a year. If blood pressure of the patient has already been stabilized, follow-up visits can be done at 3-6 months interval.
Patients with Renal Impairment: Lowering of the dose is necessary for patients with impaired renal function who exhibit electrolyte imbalance and are intravascularly volume depleted. Risk of hyperkalemia accompanies treatment with Losacard. Thus, serum potassium concentrations should be monitored especially in elderly patients with renal impairment.
Losacard should be used with caution in patients diagnosed to have renal artery stenosis.
Patients with Hepatic Impairment: Low dose of Losacard should be given to patients with hepatic disease as this may delay the excretion of Losacard from the body.
Use in lactation: The excretion of Losacard in breast milk has not yet been established. In a study done in animals, Losacard was found to pass into the milk of lactating rats. Thus, caution should be taken when administering Losacard to lactating mothers.
Use in children: The use of Losacard in children <6 years with creatinine clearance <30 mL/min/1.73 m2 has not yet been established.
Use in the
Elderly: Adjustment of Losacard doses is not necessary except for elderly patients with hepatic insufficiency.
Elderly patients with renal malfunctions should be monitored for serum potassium levels as treatment with Losacard may cause hyperkalemia.
What happens if I miss a dose of Losacard?
Take the missed dose as soon as you remember. Skip the missed dose if it is almost time for your next scheduled dose. Do not take extra medicine to make up the missed dose.
References
- DailyMed. "LOSARTAN POTASSIUM: DailyMed provides trustworthy information about marketed drugs in the United States. DailyMed is the official provider of FDA label information (package inserts).". https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailyme... (accessed September 17, 2018).
- DrugBank. "losartan". http://www.drugbank.ca/drugs/DB00678 (accessed September 17, 2018).
- MeSH. "Antihypertensive Agents". https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/68... (accessed September 17, 2018).
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Information checked by Dr. Sachin Kumar, MD Pharmacology
