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Fungizone

  • Generic Name: amphotericin b
  • Brand Name: Fungizone

Fungizone (Amphotericin B) side effects drug center

Fungizone Side Effects Center

What Is Fungizone?

Fungizone (amphotericin B) is an antifungal antibiotic used to treat serious, life-threatening fungal infections, and is usually given after other antifungal antibiotics have been unsuccessful. The brand name Fungizone is discontinued in the U.S. Generic forms may be available.

What Are Side Effects of Fungizone?

Common side effects of Fungizone (amphotericin B) include:

  • injection site reactions (pain, swelling, irritation),
  • fever,
  • shaking,
  • chills,
  • flushing,
  • loss of appetite,
  • weight loss,
  • dizziness,
  • nausea,
  • vomiting,
  • diarrhea,
  • upset stomach,
  • headache,
  • shortness of breath,
  • muscle or joint aches,
  • warmth/redness/tingly feeling under your skin,
  • itching or rash, or
  • fast breathing 1 to 3 hours after the infusion starts.

Tell your doctor if you have serious side effects of Fungizone including:

  • unusual tiredness,
  • weakness,
  • muscle cramping,
  • changes in the amount of urine,
  • painful urination,
  • numbness/tingling of arms/legs,
  • vision changes,
  • hearing changes (e.g., ringing in the ears),
  • dark urine,
  • severe stomach/abdominal pain,
  • yellowing eyes/skin,
  • swelling ankles/feet,
  • fast/slow/irregular heartbeat,
  • cold sweats,
  • blue lips,
  • easy bruising/bleeding,
  • other signs of infection (e.g., fever, persistent sore throat),
  • mental/mood changes,
  • seizures,
  • black stools, or
  • vomit that looks like coffee grounds.

Dosage for Fungizone

Dosage of amphotericin B is adjusted according to the patient's clinical status (e.g., site, cause, and severity of infection, heart and kidney function, etc.). A test dose is usually done to check for reaction, and therapy is usually initiated with a daily dose of 0.25 mg/ kg of body weight, given in a slow infusion over 2 to 6 hours.

What Drugs, Substances, or Supplements Interact with Fungizone?

Amphotericin B may interact with flucytosine, digoxin, pentamidine, tacrolimus, muscle relaxers, steroids, antifungal antibiotics, antibiotics, antiviral medicines, or cancer medicine. Tell your doctor all medications you use.

Fungizone During Pregnancy and Breastfeeding

During pregnancy, Amphotericin B should be used only when prescribed. It is unknown if this drug passes into breast milk. Consult your doctor before breastfeeding.

Additional Information

Our Fungizone (amphotericin B) Side Effects Drug Center provides a comprehensive view of available drug information on the potential side effects when taking this medication.

Fungizone Consumer Information

Get emergency medical help if you have signs of an allergic reaction: hives; wheezing, difficult breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.

Call your doctor at once if you have:

  • pale skin, easy bruising;
  • blood in your stools;
  • a light-headed feeling, like you might pass out;
  • seizure (convulsions);
  • jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes);
  • build-up of fluid in your lungs--anxiety, sweating, gasping for breath, cough with foamy mucus, chest pain, fast or uneven heart rate;
  • signs of a kidney problem--little or no urination; painful or difficult urination; swelling in your feet or ankles; feeling tired or short of breath;
  • low potassium--confusion, uneven heart rate, extreme thirst, increased urination, leg discomfort, muscle weakness or limp feeling; or
  • signs of new infection--fever, chills, flu symptoms, mouth and throat ulcers, rapid and shallow breathing.

Common side effects may include:

  • nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, diarrhea;
  • upset stomach, loss of appetite;
  • muscle or joint pain;
  • headache, ringing in your ears;
  • pain, bruising, or swelling where the medicine was injected;
  • weight loss; or
  • flushing (warmth, redness, or tingly feeling).

Read the entire detailed patient monograph for Fungizone (Amphotericin B)

Fungizone Professional Information

SIDE EFFECTS

Although some patients may tolerate full intravenous doses of amphotericin B without difficulty, most will exhibit some intolerance, often at less than the full therapeutic dose.

Tolerance may be improved by treatment with aspirin, antipyretics (e.g., acetaminophen), antihistamines, or antiemetics. Meperidine (25 to 50 mg IV) has been shown in some patients to decrease the duration of shaking chills and fever that may accompany the infusion of amphotericin B.

Administration of amphotericin B on alternate days may decrease anorexia and phlebitis.

Intravenous administration of small doses of adrenal corticosteroids just prior to or during the amphotericin B infusion may help decrease febrile reactions. Dosage and duration of such corticosteroid therapy should be kept to a minimum (see PRECAUTIONS: DRUG INTERACTIONS).

Addition of heparin (1000 units per infusion), and the use of pediatric scalp-vein needle may lessen the incidence of thrombophlebitis.

Extravasation may cause chemical irritation.

The adverse reactions most commonly observed are:

General (body as a whole): fever (sometimes accompanied by shaking chills usually occurring within 15 to 20 minutes after initiation of treatment); malaise; weight loss.

Cardiopulmonary: hypotension; tachypnea.

Gastrointestinal: anorexia; nausea; vomiting; diarrhea; dyspepsia; cramping epigastric pain.

Hematologic: normochromic, normocytic anemia.

Local: pain at the injection site with or without phlebitis or thrombophlebitis.

Musculoskeletal: generalized pain, including muscle and joint pains.

Neurologic:headache.

Renal: decreased renal function and renal function abnormalities including: azotemia, hypokalemia, hyposthenuria, renal tubular acidosis; and nephrocalcinosis. These usually improve with interruption of therapy. However, some permanent impairment often occurs, especially in those patients receiving large amounts (over 5 g) of amphotericin B or receiving other nephrotoxic agents. In some patients hydration and sodium repletion prior to amphotericin B administration may reduce the risk of developing nephrotoxicity. Supplemental alkali medication may decrease renal tubular acidosis.

The following adverse reactions have also been reported:

General (body as a whole): flushing.

Allergic: anaphylactoid and other allergic reactions; bronchospasm; wheezing.

Cardiopulmonary: cardiac arrest; shock; cardiac failure; pulmonary edema; hypersensitivity pneumonitis; arrhythmias, including ventricular fibrillation; dyspnea; hypertension.

Dermatologic: rash, in particular maculopapular; pruritus. Skin exfoliation, toxic epidermal necrolysis, and Stevens-Johnson syndrome have been reported during post-marketing surveillance.

Gastrointestinal:acute liver failure; hepatitis; jaundice; hemorrhagic gastroenteritis; melena.

Hematologic: agranulocytosis; coagulation defects; thrombocytopenia; leukopenia; eosinophilia; leukocytosis.

Neurologic: convulsions; hearing loss; tinnitus; transient vertigo; visual impairment; diplopia; peripheral neuropathy; encephalopathy (see PRECAUTIONS); other neurologic symptoms.

Renal: acute renal failure; anuria; oliguria. Nephrogenic diabetes insipidus has been reported during post-marketing surveillance.

Altered Laboratory Findings

Serum Electrolytes: Hypomagnesemia; hypo- and hyperkalemia; hypocalcemia.

Liver Function Tests: Elevations of AST, ALT, GGT, bilirubin, and alkaline phosphatase.

Renal Function Tests: Elevations of BUN and serum creatinine.

Read the entire FDA prescribing information for Fungizone (Amphotericin B)

© Fungizone Patient Information is supplied by Cerner Multum, Inc. and Fungizone Consumer information is supplied by First Databank, Inc., used under license and subject to their respective copyrights.