• Basic Info
• Top Questions
• Interactions

What is rifabutin?
Rifabutin is an antibiotic. It prevents bacteria from multiplying in your body. Rifabutin is used to prevent mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) in people with HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) infection. Rifabutin is also used with other medications to treat tuberculosis in people with HIV. Rifabutin is often given together with other antibiotics. Rifabutin may also be used for other purposes not listed in this medication guide.

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What are the possible side effects of rifabutin?

Get emergency medical help if you have any of these signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficulty breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.

Call your doctor at once if you have any of these serious side effects:

• severe skin rash or itching;

• pale skin, weakness, easy bruising or bleeding;

• fever, chills, body aches, flu symptoms; or

• eye pain or redness, vision loss.

Less serious side effects may include:

• red, orange, or brown discoloration of your skin, tears, sweat, saliva, urine, or stools;

• nausea, vomiting, diarrhea;

• stomach pain;

• belching, bloating, loss of appetite;

• headache; or

• mild skin rash or itching.

This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Tell your doctor about any unusual or bothersome side effect.

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How should I take rifabutin?
Take this medication exactly as prescribed by your doctor. Do not take it in larger amounts or for longer than recommended. Follow the directions on your prescription label. You may take rifabutin with or without food. Take the medication with food if it causes stomach upset, nausea, or vomiting. Take this medication for the full prescribed length of time. Your symptoms may improve before the infection is completely cleared. Store rifabutin at room temperature away from moisture and heat. Keep the bottle tightly closed.

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What is the most important information I should know about rifabutin?
You should not take this medication if you are allergic to rifabutin, rifapentine (Priftin), or rifampin (Rifadin, Rifater, Rimactane, Rifamate). Rifabutin should not be used without other antibiotics to prevent mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) infection in people with active tuberculosis. The tuberculosis may become resistant to treatment if rifabutin is used as a single medication. Be sure to take all your medications as prescribed by your doctor. Take this medication for the full prescribed length of time. Your symptoms may improve before the infection is completely cleared. Rifabutin will not treat a viral infection such as the common cold or flu.

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What happens if I miss a dose?
Take the missed dose as soon as you remember. If it is almost time for your next dose, wait until then to take the medicine and skip the missed dose. Do not take extra medicine to make up the missed dose.

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What other drugs will affect rifabutin?
The following drugs can interact with rifabutin. Tell your doctor if you are using any of these: other antibiotics such as clarithromycin (Biaxin), erythromycin (E-Mycin, E.E.S., Ery-Tab), fluconazole (Diflucan), or itraconazole (Sporanox); or HIV or AIDS medications such as amprenavir (Agenerase), delavirdine (Rescriptor), efavirenz (Sustiva), indinavir (Crixivan), nelfinavir (Viracept), nevirapine (Viramune), ritonavir (Norvir), or saquinavir (Invirase, Fortovase). There are many other medicines that can interact with rifabutin. Tell your doctor about all the prescription and over-the-counter medications you use. This includes vitamins, minerals, herbal products, and drugs prescribed by other doctors. Do not start using a new medication without telling your doctor. Keep a list with you of all the medicines you use and show this list to any doctor or other healthcare provider who treats you.

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Can I take this if I am pregnant or trying to get pregnant or if I am breastfeeding?

Rifabutin has been assigned to pregnancy category B by the FDA. Animal studies failed to reveal evidence of teratogenicity, although some studies demonstrated a decrease in fetal viability and an increase in fetal skeletal variants. There are no controlled data in human pregnancy. Rifabutin is only recommended for use during pregnancy when benefit outweighs risk.

There are no data on the excretion of rifabutin into human milk. Due to the potential for serious adverse effects in nursing infants, the decision should be made to either discontinue nursing or discontinue the drug based on the importance of the therapy to the mother.

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What happens if I overdose?
Seek emergency medical attention if you think you have used too much of this medicine. Overdose symptoms may include headache, nausea, vomiting, or stomach pain.

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What should I discuss with my healthcare provider before taking rifabutin?
You should not take this medication if you are allergic to rifabutin, rifapentine (Priftin), or rifampin (Rifadin, Rifater, Rimactane, Rifamate). Rifabutin should not be used without other antibiotics to prevent mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) infection in people with active tuberculosis. The tuberculosis may become resistant to treatment if rifabutin is used as a single medication. Be sure to take all your medications as prescribed by your doctor. Before using rifabutin, tell your doctor if you are allergic to any drugs, or if you have kidney disease. You may need a dose adjustment or special tests to safely take rifabutin. Your doctor will tell you if any of your medication doses need to be changed.

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Can I stop taking the medication if I feel better?
If you have been diagnosed with a disease for which an antibiotic is needed, you must complete the prescribed course of treatment. Even if you start to feel better, do not skip any doses and remember to take the medication until it is all gone.

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I am on so many medications; do I have to take them all?
This is called polypharmacy—many different medications being used at the same time by one person. Sometimes, being on multiple medications is acceptable and appropriate but at other times it may be problematic. If you are receiving your medications from multiple physicians you need to ensure that they all know what medications you are taking. The best way to do this is to make a list of all the medications you are currently using, including all nutritional supplements, homeopathic remedies, vitamins and over-the-counter drugs (if possible, also include all the diseases you have been diagnosed with). Give a copy to every doctor who takes care of you so they have it on file, this way they can avoid duplicating medications and perhaps even try to consolidate some. After every doctor's visit remember to update the list accordingly. Also, as much as you possibly can, try to use the same pharmacy to fill all your prescriptions, this way any potential drug interactions can be caught and averted.

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