Search The Medical Knowledge Base

Drug Details

CALCICHEW

• Drug Class Description
  Calcium supplements.
• Generic Name
  Calcium carbonate - deficiency
• Presentation
  Chewable tablet. Round, white, uncoated and convex tablets. May have small specks.
• Description
  Per tablet: Calcium carbonate 1250mg equivalent to 500mg of elemental calcium. Contains sorbitol, 390mg; isomalt, 62mg; and aspartame, 1mg.
• Indications
  

  Calcichew 500mg Chewable Tablets are to be chewed as a supplemental source of calcium in the correction of dietary deficiencies or when normal requirements are high.

  Calcichew 500mg Chewable Tablets may be used as an adjunct to conventional therapy in the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis. They may be used as a phosphate binding agent in the management of renal failure in patients on renal dialysis

• Adult Dosage
  

  Oral.

  Adults and elderly:

  Adjunct to osteoporosis therapy 2 to 3 tablets daily.

  Dietary deficiency 2 to 3 tablets daily.

  Osteomalacia 2 to 6 tablets daily.

  Phosphate Binder:

  Adults, children and elderly Dose as required by the individual patient depending on serum phosphate level.

  The tablets should be taken just before, during or just after each meal. Tablets may be chewed or sucked.

• Child Dosage
  

  Dietary deficiency 2 to 3 tablets daily.

• Contra Indications
  
  • Severe hypercalcaemia and hypercalciuria, for example in hyperparathyroidism, vitamin D overdosage, decalcifying tumours such as plasmocytoma and skeletal metastases, in severe renal failure untreated by renal dialysis and in osteoporosis due to immobilisation.
  • Nephrolithiasis
  • Hypersensitivity to the active substance or to any of the excipients.
• Special Precautions
  

  Calcichew 500mg chewable tablets contain aspartame (a source of phenylalanine) and should be avoided by patients with phenylketonuria.

  Calcichew 500 mg Chewable Tablets contain sorbitol (E420) and isomalt (E953). Patients with rare hereditary problems of fructose intolerance, glucose-galactose malabsorption or sucrase-isomaltase insufficiency should not take this medicine.

  In renal insufficiency the tablets should be given only under controlled conditions for hyperphosphataemia. Caution should be exercised in patients with a history of renal calculi.

  During high dose therapy and especially during concomitant treatment with vitamin D, there is a risk of hypercalcaemia with subsequent kidney function impairment. In these patients, serum calcium levels should be followed and renal function should be monitored.

• Interactions
  

  Thiazide diuretics reduce the urinary excretion of calcium. Due to increased risk of hypercalcaemia, serum calcium should be regularly monitored during concomitant use of thiazide diuretics.

  Systemic corticosteroids reduce calcium absorption. During concomitant use, it may be necessary to increase the dose of Calcichew 500mg Chewable Tablets.

  Calcium carbonate may interfere with the absorption of concomitantly administered tetracycline preparations. For this reason, tetracycline preparations should be administered at least two hours before, or four to six hours after, oral intake of calcium.

  Hypercalcaemia may increase the toxicity of cardiac glycosides during treatment with calcium. Patients should be monitored with regard to electrocardiogram (ECG) and serum calcium levels.

  If a bisphosphonate or sodium fluoride is used concomitantly, this preparation should be administered at least three hours before the intake of Calcichew 500mg Chewable Tablets since gastrointestinal absorption may be reduced.

  Oxalic acid (found in spinach and rhubarb) and phytic acid (found in whole cereals) may inhibit calcium absorption through formation of insoluble calcium salts. The patient should not take calcium products within two hours of eating foods high in oxalic acid and phytic acid.

• Adverse Drug Reactions
  

  Adverse reactions are listed below, by system organ class and frequency. Frequencies are defined as: uncommon (>1/1,000, <1/100) or rare (>1/10,000, <1/1,000).

  Metabolism and nutrition disorders

  Uncommon: Hypercalcaemia and hypercalciuria.

  Gastrointestinal disorders

  Rare: Constipation, flatulence, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhoea.

  Skin and subcutaneous disorders

  Rare: Pruritus, rash and urticaria.