Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
Quick facts
- Drug class
- Xanthine Oxidase Inhibitor [EPC], Xanthine Oxidase Inhibitors [MoA]
- How it is given
- oral
- Type
- human prescription drug
- RxNorm ID
- 197319
We do not publish dosing. How much of this medicine to take, how often, and for how long depends on your age, weight, kidney and liver function, other conditions and other medicines. That is a decision for the person who prescribes or dispenses it. Follow the directions on your own pack and ask your pharmacist if anything is unclear.
What it is used to treat
INDICATIONS AND USAGE THIS IS NOT AN INNOCUOUS DRUG. IT IS NOT RECOMMENDED FOR THE TREATMENT OF ASYMPTOMATIC HYPERURICEMIA. Allopurinol tablets USP reduces serum and urinary uric acid concentrations. Its use should be individualized for each patient and requires an understanding of its mode of action and pharmacokinetics (see CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY , CONTRAINDICATIONS , WARNINGS , and PRECAUTIONS ). Allopurinol tablet USP is indicated in: the management of patients with signs and symptoms of primary or secondary gout (acute attacks, tophi, joint destruction, uric acid lithiasis, and/or nephropathy). the management of patients with leukemia, lymphoma and malignancies who are receiving cancer therapy which causes elevations of serum and urinary uric acid levels. Treatment with allopurinol tablets USP should be discontinued when the potential for overproduction of uric acid is no longer present. the management of patients with recurrent calcium oxalate calculi whose daily uric acid excretion exceeds 800 mg/day in male patients and 750 mg/day in female patients. Therapy in such patients should be carefully assessed initially and reassessed periodically to determine in each case that treatment is beneficial and that the benefits outweigh the risks.
About this medicine
DESCRIPTION Allopurinol has the following structural formula: Allopurinol is known chemically as 1,5-dihydro-4 H -pyrazolo [3,4- d ]pyrimidin-4-one. It is a xanthine oxidase inhibitor which is administered orally. Each white to off white tablet contains 100 mg or 300 mg of allopurinol and the inactive ingredients lactose, crospovidone, magnesium stearate, maize starch, and povidone. Its solubility in water at 37°C is 80.0 mg/dL and is greater in an alkaline solution. Structural Formula
Who should not take it
CONTRAINDICATIONS Patients who have developed a severe reaction to allopurinol tablet USP should not be restarted on the drug.
Warnings
WARNINGS ALLOPURINOL TABLETS USP SHOULD BE DISCONTINUED AT THE FIRST APPEARANCE OF SKIN RASH OR OTHER SIGNS WHICH MAY INDICATE AN ALLERGIC REACTION. In some instances a skin rash may be followed by more severe hypersensitivity reactions such as exfoliative, urticarial, and purpuric lesions, as well as Stevens-Johnson syndrome (erythema multiforme exudativum), Drug Rash with Eosinophilia and Systemic Symptoms (DRESS) and/or generalized vasculitis, irreversible hepatotoxicity, and, on rare occasions, death (see ADVERSE REACTIONS ). In patients receiving PURINETHOL ® (mercaptopurine) or IMURAN ® (azathioprine), the concomitant administration of 300 to 600 mg of allopurinol per day will require a reduction in dose to approximately one-third to one-fourth of the usual dose of mercaptopurine or azathioprine. Subsequent adjustment of doses of mercaptopurine or azathioprine should be made on the basis of therapeutic response and the appearance of toxic effects (see CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY ). A few cases of reversible clinical hepatotoxicity have been noted in patients taking allopurinol, and in some patients, asymptomatic rises in serum alkaline phosphatase or serum transaminase have been observed. If anorexia, weight loss, or pruritus develop in patients on allopurinol, evaluation of liver function should be part of their diagnostic workup. In patients with pre-existing liver disease, periodic liver function tests are recommended during the early stages of therapy. Due to the occasional occurrence of drowsiness, patients should be alerted to the need for due precaution when engaging in activities where alertness is mandatory. The occurrence of hypersensitivity reactions to allopurinol may be increased in patients with decreased renal function receiving thiazides and allopurinol concurrently. For this reason, in this clinical setting, such combinations should be administered with caution and patients should be observed closely.
Reported side effects
ADVERSE REACTIONS Data upon which the following estimates of incidence of adverse reactions are made are derived from experiences reported in the literature, unpublished clinical trials and voluntary reports since marketing of allopurinol began. Past experience suggested that the most frequent event following the initiation of allopurinol treatment was an increase in acute attacks of gout (average 6% in early studies). An analysis of current usage suggests that the incidence of acute gouty attacks has diminished to less than 1%. The explanation for this decrease has not been determined but may be due in part to initiating therapy more gradually (see PRECAUTIONS and DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION ). The most frequent adverse reaction to allopurinol is skin rash. Skin reactions can be severe and sometimes fatal. Therefore, treatment with allopurinol should be discontinued immediately if a rash develops (see WARNINGS ). Some patients with the most severe reaction also had fever, chills, arthralgias, cholestatic jaundice, eosinophilia and mild leukocytosis or leukopenia. Among 55 patients with gout treated with allopurinol for 3 to 34 months (average greater than 1 year) and followed prospectively, Rundles observed that 3% of patients developed a type of drug reaction which was predominantly a pruritic maculopapular skin eruption, sometimes scaly or exfoliative. However, with current usage, skin reactions have been observed less frequently than 1%. The explanation for this decrease is not obvious. The incidence of skin rash may be increased in the presence of renal insufficiency. The frequency of skin rash among patients receiving ampicillin or amoxicillin concurrently with allopurinol has been reported to be increased (see PRECAUTIONS ). Drug rash with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS) syndrome or drug hypersensitivity syndrome (DHS) has been reported in association with allopurinol use. The syndrome includes many of the severe reactions described above, and is potentially life-threatening and fatal. […]
Interactions with other medicines
Drug Interactions: In patients receiving mercaptopurine or IMURAN (azathioprine), the concomitant administration of 300 to 600 mg of allopurinol per day will require a reduction in dose to approximately one third to one fourth of the usual dose of mercaptopurine or azathioprine. Subsequent adjustment of doses of mercaptopurine or azathioprine should be made on the basis of therapeutic response and the appearance of toxic effects (see CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY ). It has been reported that allopurinol prolongs the half-life of the anticoagulant, dicumarol. The clinical basis of this drug interaction has not been established but should be noted when allopurinol is given to patients already on dicumarol therapy. Since the excretion of oxipurinol is similar to that of urate, uricosuric agents, which increase the excretion of urate, are also likely to increase the excretion of oxipurinol and thus lower the degree of inhibition of xanthine oxidase. The concomitant administration of uricosuric agents and allopurinol has been associated with a decrease in the excretion of oxypurines (hypoxanthine and xanthine) and an increase in urinary uric acid excretion compared with that observed with allopurinol alone. Although clinical evidence to date has not demonstrated renal precipitation of oxypurines in patients either on allopurinol alone or in combination with uricosuric agents, the possibility should be kept in mind. The reports that the concomitant use of allopurinol and thiazide diuretics may contribute to the enhancement of allopurinol toxicity in some patients have been reviewed in an attempt to establish a cause-and-effect relationship and a mechanism of causation. Review of these case reports indicates that the patients were mainly receiving thiazide diuretics for hypertension and that tests to rule out decreased renal function secondary to hypertensive nephropathy were not often performed. In those patients in whom renal insufficiency was documented, however, the recommendation to lower the dose of allopurinol was not followed. […]
If too much is taken
OVERDOSAGE Massive overdosing or acute poisoning by allopurinol tablets USP has not been reported. In mice, the 50% lethal dose (LD 50 ) is 160 mg/kg given intraperitoneally (IP) with deaths delayed up to 5 days and 700 mg/kg orally (PO) (approximately 140 times the usual human dose) with deaths delayed up to 3 days. In rats, the acute LD 50 is 750 mg/kg IP and 6000 mg/kg PO (approximately 1200 times the human dose). In the management of overdosage there is no specific antidote for allopurinol. There has been no clinical experience in the management of a patient who has taken massive amounts of allopurinol. Both allopurinol and oxipurinol are dialyzable; however, the usefulness of hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis in the management of an overdose of allopurinol is unknown.
Before you take anything new
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This page is built from the openFDA record of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's approved labelling for this product, effective 28 November 2022. Label text has been shortened and reformatted for readability; safety wording has not been altered in meaning. FDA labelling describes products approved in the United States — brand names, strengths, formulations and approved uses may differ in your country. Always read the leaflet that comes with your own pack. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the FDA. Retrieved 2026-07-30.