II. Indications
-
HIV Infection
- Other nRTI agents with fewer adverse effects (e.g. Peripheral Neuropathy) have replaced Stavudine
III. Mechanism
- Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitor (nRTI)
- Inhibits HIV replication
IV. Pharmacokinetics
- Well absorbed with 83% Bioavailability
V. Efficacy
VI. Dosing
- Stavudine 40 mg orally twice daily
VII. Adverse Effects
- See nRTI for adverse effects attributed to the class
- Less Bone Marrow toxicity than Zidovudine (AZT)
- Headache
- Nausea, Vomiting
- Asthenia, confusion
- Serum Aminotransferase elevation
- Creatine Kinase elevation
- Lipodystrophy
- Hyperlipidemia
- Glucose intollerance to Diabetes Mellitus
-
Lactic Acidosis
- Potentially lethal
- Higher risk when used in combination with Didanosine
- Moderate painful sensory Peripheral Neuropathy
- Most common serious side effect (more than other nRTI agents)
- Dose related (may not recur if restart at lower dose)
- Pancreatitis and hyperamylasemia (rare)
VIII. Resources
- Stavudine for solution (DailyMed)
- Stavudine Capsules (DailyMed)