Drug interactions with irbesartan

Irbesartan is an angiotensin II receptor antagonist indicated for the treat ment of patients with hypertension. Although irbesartan does not require bi otransformation for its pharmacological activity, it does undergo metabolis m via the cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2C9 isoenzyme and negligible metabolism by the CYP3A4 isoenzyme. The long term treatment of patients with hypertension is generally required for effective management of the disease, and the use of concurrent medications is usually inevitable. This paper reviews the dr ug and food interaction trials involving irbesartan that have been conducte d to date. Based on the available literature, no significant interactions have been id entified between irbesartan and hydrochlorothiazide, nifedipine, simvastati n, tolbutamide, warfarin, magnesium and aluminum hydroxides, digoxin or foo d. Fluconazole did increase the steady-state peak plasma concentration (by 19%) and area under the concentration-time curve (by 63%) of irbesartan, bu t these increases are not likely to be clinically significant. In summary, irbesartan has demonstrated minimal potential for drug or food interactions in trials conducted to date.