WARNING:
Tipranavir can cause serious, life-threatening side effects. These include liver problems, severe rash, and bleeding in the brain.
Stop taking tipranavir (and ritonavir, the anti-HIV medicine always used with tipranavir) and contact your health care provider right away if you have any of the following symptoms that may signal liver damage:
- Tiredness.
- General ill feeling or flu-like symptoms.
- Loss of appetite.
- Nausea.
- Yellowing of your skin or the whites of your eyes (jaundice).
- Dark-colored urine.
- Light-colored bowel movements.
- Pain, aching, or tenderness on the right side below your ribs.
Stop taking tipranavir and contact your health care provider right away if you develop a rash and one or more of the following symptoms:
- Joint pain or stiffness.
- Throat tightness.
- Generalized itching.
- Muscle aches.
- Fever.
- Redness, blisters, or peeling of your skin.
Report any unusual or unexplained bleeding to your health care provider.
While taking tipranavir, it is important to keep all of your appointments with your health care provider.
What is tipranavir?
Tipranavir is a prescription medicine approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of HIV infection in adults and children 2 years of age and older. Tipranavir is always used with the anti-HIV medicine ritonavir (brand name: Norvir) and at least two other anti-HIV medicines.
Tipranavir is a type of anti-HIV medicine called a protease inhibitor (PI). Tipranavir works by blocking protease, an HIV enzyme. This prevents HIV from replicating and lowers the amount of HIV in the blood.
Tripranavir should be used only in people who have taken anti-HIV medicines before and whose HIV is resistant to more than one PI.
Tipranavir does not cure HIV/AIDS. It is not known if tipranavir reduces the risk of passing HIV to other people.
What should I tell my health care provider before taking tipranavir?
Before taking tipranavir, tell your health care provider:
- If you are allergic to tipranavir, sulfa medicines, or any other medicines.
- If you have hemophilia or another medical condition that increases your chance of bleeding.
- If you are taking medicines that increase your chance of bleeding.
- If you have liver problems or are infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV).
- If you have diabetes.
- If you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. Whether tipranavir can harm an unborn baby is unknown.
- If you are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed if you are infected with HIV or are taking tipranavir.
- If you are using estrogens for birth control or hormone replacement.
- About other prescription and nonprescription medicines, vitamins, nutritional supplements, and herbal products you are taking or plan to take. Tipranavir may affect the way other medicines or products work, and other medicines or products may affect how tipranavir works. Taking tipranavir together with certain medicines or products may cause serious and/or life-threatening side effects.
How should I take tipranavir?
Tipranavir comes in two forms:
- 250-mg capsules (brand name: Aptivus).
- 100-mg/mL oral solution (brand name: Aptivus).
Take tipranavir according to your health care provider’s instructions.
Tipranavir capsules should be swallowed whole. Do not chew the capsules.
Tipranavir is always used with the anti-HIV medicine ritonavir (brand name: Norvir) and at least two other anti-HIV medicines. Take tipranavir and ritonavir at the same time. If you are taking tipranavir with ritonavir capsules or oral solution, the medicines can be taken with or without meals. If you are taking tipranavir with ritonavir tablets, the medicines must be taken only with meals.
If you are taking the oral solution of tipranavir, which contains vitamin E, you should not take additional vitamin E other that contained in a standard multivitamin.
If you take too much tipranavir, contact your local poison control center (1-800-222-1222) or go to the nearest hospital emergency room right away.
For more information on how to take tipranavir, see the FDA drug label from DailyMed. (DailyMed is a federal website that includes the most recent drug labels submitted to FDA.)
What should I do if I forget a dose?
Take the missed dose, together with ritonavir, as soon as you remember it. But if it is almost time for your next dose, skip the missed dose and just take your next dose at the regular time. Do not take two doses at the same time to make up for a missed dose.
What side effects can tipranavir cause?
Tipranavir can cause serious, life-threatening side effects. These include liver problems, severe rash, and bleeding in the brain. (See the WARNING above.)
Other possible side effects of tipranavir include:
- Diabetes and high blood sugar (hyperglycemia).
- Changes in body fat (lipodystrophy).
- Changes in the immune system (immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome).
- Increased blood fat levels (hyperlipidemia).
- Increased bleeding in people with hemophilia.
Tell your health care provider if you have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away.
These are not all the possible side effects of tipranavir. Ask your health care provider or pharmacist for more information on possible side effects of tipranavir.
How should tipranavir be stored?
- Store tipranavir capsules in a refrigerator at about 36°F to 46°F (2°C to 8°C). You can take the bottle with you for use away from home as long as the bottle remains at a temperature of 59°F to 86°F (15°C to 30°C). Once the bottle is opened, the capsules must be used within 60 days.
- Store tipranavir oral solution at 59°F to 86°F (15°C to 30°C). Do not refrigerate or freeze the oral solution. Once the bottle is opened, the oral solution must be used within 60 days.
- Safely throw away tipranavir that is no longer needed or expired (out of date).
- Keep tipranavir and all medicines out of reach of children.
Where can I find more information about tipranavir?
More information about tipranavir is available:
Manufacturer Information
Boehringer Ingelheim
800-243-0127
Last Reviewed: September 13, 2012
Last Updated: September 13, 2012