Entavir 1 Mg Tablets

Description

About Entavir 1 mg Tablets

Entavir 1 mg Tablets contain 1 mg of entecavir per tablet, supplied as strips and bottles of 10, 30 or 90 tablets. Entecavir is an antiviral medicine of the nucleoside analogue class, used in the long-term treatment of hepatitis B.

How it works

Inside the body entecavir is converted into its active form, which closely resembles one of the natural building blocks the hepatitis B virus needs to copy its DNA. The viral enzyme takes it up in place of the real building block, and replication stalls. This lowers the amount of virus in the blood and reduces the ongoing inflammation that damages the liver. It suppresses the virus rather than clearing it, which is why treatment is long-term.

What it is used for

Entecavir is used for chronic hepatitis B virus infection in adults where there is evidence that the virus is actively replicating, together with signs of liver inflammation or damage. The 1 mg strength is the one prescribed where the virus has stopped responding to lamivudine, or in more advanced liver disease; 0.5 mg is the usual strength for someone who has not taken a nucleoside antiviral before. Which strength applies is a decision for the treating doctor.

Important: this is not an HIV medicine

Entecavir does not treat HIV. It has only weak activity against HIV, and taking it on its own when HIV is present can make the HIV harder to treat later by selecting a resistant form of the virus. For that reason anyone being considered for entecavir should be tested for HIV first, and people who have both infections should be on fully effective HIV treatment before entecavir is added.

Safety and monitoring

Do not stop entecavir without medical advice. Hepatitis can flare severely in the weeks and months after treatment stops, so liver function is monitored for a period afterwards. Tell your doctor promptly about unusual tiredness, muscle pain, trouble breathing, stomach pain with nausea or vomiting, cold or blue-tinged hands and feet, or a fast or irregular heartbeat — these can be signs of a rare build-up of lactic acid in the blood, or of liver swelling, both recognised risks of this class of medicine.

Tell your doctor if you have kidney problems or are on dialysis, as the amount prescribed may need to be adjusted, and mention every other medicine you take.

Prescription and storage

A prescription from your healthcare provider is required to purchase entecavir. Store the tablets at room temperature, away from moisture and direct sunlight, and out of the reach of children.