How does it work?

This medicine contains the active ingredient telithromycin, which is a type of antibiotic. Telithromycin works by preventing bacteria from producing proteins that are essential to them. Without these proteins the bacteria cannot grow, replicate and increase in numbers. By controlling bacterial numbers, telithromycin stops the spread of infection and the remaining bacteria eventually die or are killed by the body's immune system. Telithromycin is used to treat bacterial infections involving the respiratory tract, such as pneumonia, sinusitis and bronchitis.

What is it used for?

Acute sinusitis in patients aged 18 years and over

Acute worsening of chronic bronchitis in patients aged 18 years and over

Community-acquired pneumonia in patients aged 18 years and over

Tonsillitis/pharyngitis in patients aged 12 years and over

Warning!

Consult your doctor immediately if you experience severe, prolonged and/or bloody diarrhoea while taking this medicine, as it may be necessary for you to stop treatment.

The safety and efficacy of this medicine in children under 12 years of age have not been established.

This medicine may cause various side effects that could impair your mental or physical ability to safely drive or operate machinary. You should be aware of how you react to this medicine before driving or operating machinary.

It is very important that you complete the prescribed course of this medicine, unless otherwise directed by your doctor, as the medicine may not be fully effective if you don't.

If you suffer from the muscle condition myasthenia gravis you should seek immediate medical attention if your symptoms worsen while you are taking this medicine.

Use with caution in

Abnormal muscle weakness

Coronary heart disease

Decreased kidney function

Decreased liver function

History of irregular heart beats (arrhythmias)

Imbalance of the salts in the blood, particularly low blood potassium levels (hypokalaemia) or low blood magnesium levels (hypomagnesemia)

Slow heart rate of less than 50 beats per minute (bradycardia)

Not to be used in

Abnormal heart rhythm seen on the heart monitoring trace (ECG) as a 'prolonged QT interval', or a family history of this

Allergy to macrolide type antibiotics, eg erythromycin

Breastfeeding

Hereditary galactose intolerance

Hereditary Lapp lactase deficiency

Inherited inability to absorb the sugars glucose and galactose (glucose-galactose malabsorption)

This medicine should not be used if you are allergic to one or any of its ingredients. Please inform your doctor or pharmacist if you have previously experienced such an allergy. If you feel you have experienced an allergic reaction, stop using this medicine and inform your doctor or pharmacist immediately.

Pregnancy and Breastfeeding

Certain medicines should not be used during pregnancy or breastfeeding. However, other medicines may be safely used in pregnancy or breastfeeding providing the benefits to the mother outweigh the risks to the unborn baby. Always inform your doctor if you are pregnant or planning a pregnancy, before using any medicine.

The safety of this medicine for use during pregnancy has not been established. It is not recommended for use in pregnancy unless considered essential by your doctor. Seek medical advice from your doctor.

There is no information available about the safety of this medicine during breastfeeding. For this reason, the manufacturer states that it should not be used during breastfeeding. Seek medical advice from your doctor.

Label warnings

Take at regular intervals. Complete the prescribed course unless otherwise directed.

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