Indications

Type 2 DM.

Special Instructions

Should be taken with food. Take w/ 1st bite of each main meal.

Contraindication

Patient w/ inflammatory bowel disease, diabetic ketoacidosis or cirrhosis, colonic ulceration, partial intestinal obstruction or predisposition to this condition, chronic intestinal diseases associated w/ marked disorders of digestion or absorption and state/s which may deteriorate as a result of increased gas formation in the intestine (e.g. larger hernias). Severe hepatic and renal impairment (CrCl <25 mL/min).

Special Precautions

Patient exposed to stress (e.g. fever, trauma, infection, surgery). Mild to moderate hepatic and renal impairment. Pregnancy and lactation. Patient Counselling Adhere strictly to the prescribed diabetic diet. Monitoring Parameters Monitor postprandial glucose, glycosylated Hb levels, renal function (serum creatinine) and BP. Monitor serum transaminase levels 3 mthly during the 1st yr of treatment and periodically thereafter.

Side Effects

Flatulence, abdominal pain and distension, diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting, abnormal LFTs, thrombocytopenia, pneumatosis cystoidis intestinalis. Rarely, ileus, jaundice, hepatitis, skin reactions and oedema.

Drug Interactions

May enhance effects of other antidiabetics including insulin. Diminished effects w/ GI adsorbents (e.g. charcoal) and digestive enzyme preparations containing carbohydrate splitting enzymes (e.g. amylase, pancreatin). Neomycin and colestyramine may enhance effects of acarbose. May inhibit absorption of digoxin.

Route of Administration

Oral

Dosage

As directed by the physician