Drug Interactions
Your healthcare professionals (e.g., doctor or pharmacist) may already be aware of any possible drug interactions and may be monitoring you for them. Do not start, stop or change the dosage of any medicine before checking with them first. This drug should not be used with the following medications because very serious interactions may occur: live bacterial vaccines (e.g., oral typhoid), certain non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (nevirapine, delavirdine, etravirine), voriconazole, HIV protease inhibitors (e.g., saquinavir, ritonavir, indinavir). If you are currently using any of these medications listed above, tell your doctor or pharmacist before starting rifampin. Before using this medication, tell your doctor or pharmacist of all prescription and nonprescription/herbal products you may use. This drug can speed up the removal of other drugs from your body by affecting certain liver enzymes. These affected drugs include (not a complete list): antiarrhythmics (e.g., disopyramide, mexiletine, quinidine), certain anti-cancer drugs (e.g., erlotinib, exemestane, imatinib, irinotecan), anticoagulants (e.g., warfarin, dicumarol), certain anti-infectives (e.g., chloramphenicol, clarithromycin, dapsone, doxycycline, linezolid, telithromycin, zidovudine, quinolones such as ciprofloxacin), certain antimalarial drugs (e.g., atovaquone, quinine), anti-seizure drugs (e.g., phenytoin, phenobarbital, lamotrigine), aprepitant, azole antifungals (e.g., itraconazole, ketoconazole), benzodiazepines (e.g., diazepam, midazolam), certain drugs to lower blood pressure (e.g., enalapril, certain beta blockers such as metoprolol and carvedilol, calcium channel blockers such as verapamil), caspofungin, corticosteroids (e.g., prednisone), certain oral drugs for diabetes (e.g., tolbutamide, chlorpropamide, repaglinide), digitoxin, certain hormone replacement drugs (e.g., estrogens such as conjugated estrogen, progestins such as medroxyprogesterone), certain drugs to suppress the immune system (e.g., cyclosporine, tacrolimus), certain drugs for mental/mood disorders (e.g., clozapine, haloperidol, tricyclic antidepressants such as amitriptyline), narcotic pain relievers (e.g., morphine, methadone), certain drugs for sleep (e.g., ramelteon, eszopiclone, zopiclone), certain statin drugs to lower cholesterol (e.g., atorvastatin, simvastatin), sulfasalazine, theophylline, thyroid medications (e.g., levothyroxine). This medication may decrease the effectiveness of hormonal birth control pills, increasing the risk of pregnancy and menstrual disorders (e.g., unexpected bleeding/spotting). Women may need to use a non-hormonal form of birth control (e.g., condoms, diaphragm with spermicide, IUD) while taking this medication. Talk with your doctor for more details and to discuss reliable forms of birth control. This medication may interfere with certain laboratory tests (urine screening for opiates, blood serum folate/vitamin B12), possibly causing false test results. Rifampin may also make it harder for your body to get rid of certain chemicals used in gallbladder tests. Make sure laboratory personnel and all your doctors know you use this drug. This document does not contain all possible interactions. Therefore, before using this product, tell your doctor or pharmacist of all the products you use. Keep a list of all your medications with you, and share the list with your doctor and pharmacist.