Mechanisms of Drug Interactions II.

Drug interactions continue to be an important consideration for patients receiving antimicrobial chemotherapy. The clinical significance of drug interactions in patients receiving anti-infectives has been spotlighted by numerous reports of drug interactions among patients taking antiretroviral therapy (1). As a result, considerable progress has been made in describing the mechanisms by which drug interactions occur; this has led to increased ability to recognize and manage clinically significant drug interactions. Although much of the success in managing drug interactions can be attributed to increased knowledge of cytochrome P450 (CYP)-mediated drug metabolism, drug transport mechanisms are increasingly recognized as a means by which clinically relevant drug interactions occur among anti-infective agents (2). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]