Cyclosporine and Deflazacort interaction
Cyclosporine and Deflazacort: both prescribing labels describe an interaction that usually calls for monitoring, a dose change, or spacing the doses.
Usually manageable with monitoring or a dose change. Tell your pharmacist you take both.
What the FDA labels say
From the Cyclosporine (Neoral) label · effective 2026-08-10
…in perfusion > decrease in tubular function Increased uptake of Indium 111 labeled platelets or Tc-99m in colloid Therapy Responds to decreased cyclosporine Responds to increased steroids or antilymphocyte globulin A form of a cyclosporine-associated nephropathy is characterized by serial deterioration in renal function and morphologic changes in the kidneys.
In the event of severe and unremitting rejection, when rescue therapy with pulse steroids and monoclonal antibodies fail to reverse the rejection episode, it may be preferable to switch to alternative immunosuppressive therapy rather than increase the Neoral dose to excessive blood concentrations.
Predisposing factors, such as hypertension, hypomagnesemia, hypocholesterolemia, high-dose corticosteroids, high cyclosporine blood concentrations, and graft-versus-host disease, have been noted in many but not all of the reported cases.
Drugs That Increase Cyclosporine Concentrations Calcium Channel Blockers Antifungals Antibiotics Glucocorticoids Other Drugs diltiazem fluconazole azithromycin methylprednisolone Allopurinol nicardipine itraconazole clarithromycin Amiodarone verapamil ketoconazole erythromycin Bromocriptine voriconazole quinupristin/ dalfopristin colchicine danazol imatinib metoclopramide…
From the Deflazacort (EMFLAZA) label · effective 2025-11-13
Moderate or strong CYP3A4 inhibitors: Give one third of the recommended dosage of EMFLAZA ( 7.1 )
Co-administration of deflazacort with clarithromycin, a strong CYP3A4 inhibitor, increased total exposure to 21-desDFZ by about 3-fold.
Therefore, give one third the recommended dosage of EMFLAZA when moderate or strong CYP3A4 inhibitors (e.g., clarithromycin, fluconazole, diltiazem, verapamil, grapefruit juice) are used concomitantly with EMFLAZA [see Dosage and Administration ( 2.5 ) and Clinical Pharmacology ( 12.3 )] .
CYP3A4 Inhibitors and Inducers Moderate or Strong CYP3A4 Inhibitors The active metabolite of deflazacort, 21-desDFZ, is a substrate of CYP3A4 [see Clinical Pharmacology ( 12.3 )] .
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Open in the checkerNot medical advice. Interaction Checker quotes FDA label text and NIH fact sheets. Whether an interaction matters for you depends on doses, timing, kidney and liver function, and other conditions. Confirm with a pharmacist or prescriber.