Akovaz

Akovaz is a prescription medication used to raise blood pressure, when blood pressure drops due to anesthesia, in surgical settings. 

Akovaz belongs to a group of drugs called pressors. These work to stimulates certain responses in the body to increase blood pressure. 

This medication is available as an injection and is injected by a health care professional. 

Common side effects include nausea, vomiting, and a fast heartbeat. 

Akovaz injection is used in the treatment of low blood pressure occurring in the setting of anesthesia.

This medication may be prescribed for other uses. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Serious side effects have been reported with Akovaz. See the “Akovaz Precautions” section.

Common side effects of Akovaz include the following:

• nausea and vomiting
• tachycardia
• palpitations (thumping heart)
• reactive hypertension
• bradycardia
• irregular heartbeat
• dizziness
• restlessness

This is not a complete list of Akovaz side effects. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Tell your doctor if you have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away.

Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to the FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take, including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Especially tell your doctor if you take:

• clonidine (Catapres)
• oxytocin and oxytocic drugs like oxytocin (Pitocin), methylergonovine (Methergine), carboprost (Hemobate)
• propofol (Diprivan)
• monoamine oxidase inhibitors such as tranylcypromine (Parnate), phenelzine (Nardil), selegiline (Eldepryl, Zelapar), isocarboxazid (Marplan), and rasagiline (Azilect)
• atropine
• alpha antagonists
• beta blockers such as
  • metoprolol (Toprol XL, Lopressor)
  • carvedilol (Coreg)
  • bisoprolol (Zebeta)
  • betaxolol (Kerlone)
  • nebivolol (Bystolic)
  • propranolol (Inderal, Pronol)
• reserpine
• quinidine (Cardioquin)
• mephentermine (Wyamine Sulfate Injection)
• guanethidine (Esimil)
• rocuronium (Zemuron)
• epidural anesthesia
• theophylline (Theobid)
• digoxin (Lanoxin)

This is not a complete list of Akovaz drug interactions. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Serious side effects have been reported with Akovaz including the following:

• High blood pressure when given with oxytocic drugs. Serious postpartum hypertension has been described in patients who received both a vasopressor (i.e., methoxamine, phenylephrine, ephedrine) and an oxytocic (i.e., methylergonovine, ergonovine). Blood pressure should be carefully monitored when receiving both ephedrine and an oxytocic.
• Tolerance with repeated administration of ephedrine. Akovaz can have a much smaller effect when given multiple times, rendering it less effective.
• High blood pressure when used to prevent low blood pressure. Ephedrine has been associated with an increased incidence of low blood pressure compared with when ephedrine is used to treat low blood pressure.

Do not take Akovaz if you are allergic to Akovaz or to any of its ingredients.

Medications can interact with certain foods. In some cases, this may be harmful and your doctor may advise you to avoid certain foods. In the case of Akovaz, there are no specific foods that you must exclude from your diet when receiving this medication.

Before taking Akovaz, tell your doctor about all of your medical conditions. Especially tell your doctor if you are allergic to Akovaz or to any of its ingredients.

Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.

Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant.

Limited published data on the use of ephedrine sulfate are insufficient to determine a drug associated risk of major birth defects or miscarriage. Animal reproduction studies have not been conducted with Akovaz. Cases of potential metabolic acidosis in newborns at delivery with maternal ephedrine exposure have been reported.
 

Tell your doctor if you are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed.

Limited published literature reports that ephedrine is present in human milk. However, no information is available on the effects of the drug on the breastfed infant or the effects of the drug on milk production.
 

Akovaz is available in an injectable form to be given directly into a vein (IV) by a healthcare professional.

The recommended dose range of Akovaz for the treatment of low blood pressure is 5 mg to 10 mg into the vein as needed, not to exceed 50 mg.

If Akovaz is administered by a healthcare provider in a medical setting, it is unlikely that an overdose will occur. However, if an overdose is suspected, seek emergency medical attention.