Pharmacokinetic interactions between indinavir plus ritonavir and calcium channel blockers

BACKGROUND: Hypertension is an important modifiable cardiac risk factor in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients. Calcium channel blockers are substrates of cytochrome P450 3A and are commonly prescribed for hypertension. We evaluated potential bidirectional pharmacokinetic interactions between calcium channel blockers and coadministered indinavir and ritonavir. METHODS: Healthy HIV- seronegative subjects received 120 mg diltiazem daily or 5 mg amlodipine daily for days 1 to 7 and 20 to 26. All subjects received 100 mg ritonavir and 800 mg indinavir every 12 hours on days 8 to 26. Twenty-four-hour pharmacokinetic collection was performed on days 7 and 26, with 12-hour collection on day 19. RESULTS: Indinavir plus ritonavir increased the median amlodipine area under the curve from 0 to 24 hours (AUC) by 89.8%, from 122 to 230 ng.h/mL (n = 18, P < .0001), and increased the median diltiazem AUC by 26.5%, from 800 to 1060 ng.h/mL (n = 13, P = .06). Of 13 subjects, 2 (15%) had greater than 4-fold increases in diltiazem AUC. Desacetyldiltiazem AUC increased by 102.2% (P = .001), and desmethyldiltiazem AUC decreased by 27.4% (P = .01). Neither amlodipine nor diltiazem affected steady-state AUCs of the protease inhibitors. No serious cardiovascular adverse effects were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Indinavir plus ritonavir increases the AUCs of both amlodipine and diltiazem, which may result in an increased response. If coadministration is indicated, amlodipine or diltiazem should be initiated at low doses with careful titration to response and side effects.