General Dosing Information

The patient should be placed on a standard cholesterol-lowering diet before receiving PRAVACHOL and should continue on this diet during treatment with PRAVACHOL [see NCEP Treatment Guidelines for details on dietary therapy].

Adult Patients

The recommended starting dose is 40 mg once daily. If a daily dose of 40 mg does not achieve desired cholesterol levels, 80 mg once daily is recommended. PRAVACHOL can be administered orally as a single dose at any time of the day, with or without food. Since the maximal effect of a given dose is seen within 4 weeks, periodic lipid determinations should be performed at this time and dosage adjusted according to the patient’s response to therapy and established treatment guidelines.

Patients with Renal Impairment

In patients with severe renal impairment, a starting dose of 10 mg pravastatin daily is recommended. Although the PRAVACHOL 10 mg tablets are no longer available, pravastatin 10 mg tablets are available.

Pediatric Patients

Concomitant Lipid-Altering Therapy

PRAVACHOL may be used with bile acid resins. When administering a bile-acid-binding resin (e.g., cholestyramine, colestipol) and pravastatin, PRAVACHOL should be given either 1 hour or more before or at least 4 hours following the resin. [See Clinical Pharmacology (12.3).]

Dosage in Patients Taking Cyclosporine

In patients taking immunosuppressive drugs such as cyclosporine concomitantly with pravastatin, therapy should begin with 10 mg of pravastatin sodium once-a-day at bedtime and titration to higher doses should be done with caution. Most patients treated with this combination received a maximum pravastatin sodium dose of 20 mg/day. In patients taking cyclosporine, therapy should be limited to 20 mg of pravastatin sodium once daily [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1) and Drug Interactions (7.1)]. Although the PRAVACHOL 10 mg tablets are no longer available, pravastatin 10 mg tablets are available.

Dosage in Patients Taking Clarithromycin

In patients taking clarithromycin, therapy should be limited to 40 mg of pravastatin sodium once daily [see Drug Interactions (7.2)].