It is very important that your doctor check your or your child's progress at regular visits to make sure that voriconazole is working properly. Blood and urine tests will be needed to check for unwanted effects.
If your or your child's symptoms do not improve, or if they become worse, check with your doctor. You may need to take voriconazole for several months before your infection gets better.
Using voriconazole while you are pregnant can harm your unborn baby. Use an effective form of birth control to keep from getting pregnant. If you think you have become pregnant while using the medicine, tell your doctor right away.
You or your child should not use astemizole (Hismanal®), barbiturates (eg, phenobarbital, Luminal®), carbamazepine (Tegretol®), cisapride (Propulsid®), efavirenz (Sustiva®), ergot medicines (eg, dihydroergotamine, ergotamine, Cafergot®, Ergomar®, Wigraine®), pimozide (Orap®), quinidine (Quinaglute®), rifabutin (Mycobutin®), rifampin (Rifadin®, Rimactane®), ritonavir (Norvir®), sirolimus (Rapamune®), St. John's wort, or terfenadine (Seldane®). Using any of them together with voriconazole may increase the chance of unwanted effects.
Voriconazole may cause vision problems. Do not drive (especially at night) or do anything else that could be dangerous until you know how voriconazole affects you. Call your doctor if you or your child have any vision changes or if bright lights bother your eyes.
Check with your doctor right away if you or your child have pain or tenderness in the upper stomach, pale stools, dark urine, loss of appetite, nausea, unusual tiredness or weakness, or yellow eyes or skin. These could be symptoms of a serious liver problem.
Voriconazole tablets contain lactose (milk sugar) while the oral liquid contains sucrose (table sugar), which can make patients with conditions that make it hard for them to digest sugars or dairy products worse. Talk to your doctor if you or your child have concerns about this.
Contact your doctor right away if you or your child have any changes to your heart rhythm. You might feel dizzy or faint, or you might have a fast, pounding, or uneven heartbeat. Make sure your doctor knows if you or anyone in your family has ever had a heart rhythm problem, such as QT prolongation.
Voriconazole may increase your or your child's risk of having kidney problems, including acute kidney failure. Check with your doctor right away if you have blood in the urine, decreased urine output, muscle twitching, nausea, rapid weight gain, seizures, decreased awareness or responsiveness, severe sleepiness, swelling of the face, ankles, or hands, or unusual tiredness or weakness.
Voriconazole may cause serious skin reactions, including Stevens-Johnson syndrome. toxic epidermal necrolysis, drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS). Check with your doctor right away if you or your child have black, tarry stools, blistering, peeling, loosening of the skin, chest pain, chills, cough, diarrhea, fever, itching, joint or muscle pain, red irritated eyes, red skin lesions, often with a purple center, sore throat, sores, ulcers, or white spots in the mouth or on the lips, painful or difficult urination, swollen glands. trouble breathing, unusual bleeding, bruising, tiredness, or weakness.
Pancreatitis (swelling of the pancreas) may occur while you or your child are using voriconazole. Check with your doctor right away if you or your child have sudden and severe stomach pain, chills, constipation, nausea, vomiting, fever, or lightheadedness.
Voriconazole may make your or your child's skin more sensitive to sunlight. Use sunscreen when you are outdoors. Avoid sunlamps and tanning beds.
Voriconazole may cause bone pain when used for a long period of time. Check with your doctor right away if you or your child have bone pain while using voriconazole.
Do not take other medicines unless they have been discussed with your doctor. This includes prescription or nonprescription (over-the-counter [OTC]) medicines and herbal or vitamin supplements.
