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
- Aluminum Complex [EPC]
- How it is given
- oral
- Type
- human prescription drug
- Brand names
- Carafate
- RxNorm ID
- 208094
We do not publish dosing.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 CARAFATE (sucralfate) Oral Suspension is indicated in the short-term (up to 8 weeks) treatment of active duodenal ulcer.
About this medicine
DESCRIPTION CARAFATE Oral Suspension contains sucralfate and sucralfate is an α-D-glucopyranoside, β-D- fructofuranosyl-, octakis-(hydrogen sulfate), aluminum complex. CARAFATE Oral Suspension for oral administration contains 1 g of sucralfate per 10 mL. CARAFATE Oral Suspension also contains: colloidal silicon dioxide NF, FD&C Red #40, flavor, glycerin USP, methylcellulose USP, methylparaben NF, microcrystalline cellulose NF, purified water USP, simethicone emulsion USP, and sorbitol solution USP. Therapeutic category: antiulcer. CARAFATE Oral Suspension contains sucralfate and sucralfate is an α-D-glucopyranoside, β-D- fructofuranosyl-, octakis-(hydrogen sulfate), aluminum complex.
Who should not take it
CONTRAINDICATIONS CARAFATE Oral Suspension is contraindicated for patients with known hypersensitivity reactions to the active substance or to any of the excipients.
Warnings
WARNINGS Fatal complications, including pulmonary and cerebral emboli have occurred with inappropriate intravenous administration of CARAFATE Oral Suspension. Administer CARAFATE Oral Suspension only by the oral route. Do not administer intravenously.
Reported side effects
ADV E RSE R EACTI O NS Adverse reactions to sucralfate tablets in clinical trials were minor and only rarely led to discontinuation of the drug. In studies involving over 2700 patients treated with sucralfate, adverse effects were reported in 129 (4.7%). Constipation was the most frequent complaint (2%). Other adverse effects reported in less than 0.5% of the patients are listed below by body system: Gastrointestinal: diarrhea, dry mouth, flatulence, gastric discomfort, indigestion, nausea, vomiting Derm a tolog i cal: pruritus, rash Ner v ous S y s tem: dizziness, insomnia, sleepiness, vertigo Oth e r: back pain, headache Post-marketing cases of hypersensitivity have been reported with the use of sucralfate oral suspension, including anaphylactic reactions, dyspnea, lip swelling, edema of the mouth, pharyngeal edema, pruritus, rash, swelling of the face and urticaria. Cases of bronchospasm, laryngeal edema and respiratory tract edema have been reported with an unknown oral formulation of sucralfate. Cases of hyperglycemia have been reported with sucralfate. Bezoars have been reported in patients treated with sucralfate. The majority of patients had underlying medical conditions that may predispose to bezoar formation (such as delayed gastric emptying) or were receiving concomitant enteral tube feedings.
Interactions with other medicines
Drug Intera c tions Some studies have shown that simultaneous sucralfate administration in healthy volunteers reduced the extent of absorption (bioavailability) of single doses of the following: cimetidine, digoxin, fluoroquinolone antibiotics, ketoconazole, l-thyroxine, phenytoin, quinidine, ranitidine, tetracycline, and theophylline. Subtherapeutic prothrombin times with concomitant warfarin and sucralfate therapy have been reported in spontaneous and published case reports. However, two clinical studies have demonstrated no change in either serum warfarin concentration or prothrombin time with the addition of sucralfate to chronic warfarin therapy. The mechanism of these interactions appears to be nonsystemic in nature, presumably resulting from sucralfate binding to the concomitant agent in the gastrointestinal tract. In all cases studied to date (cimetidine, ciprofloxacin, digoxin, norfloxacin, ofloxacin, and ranitidine), dosing the concomitant medication 2 hours before sucralfate eliminated the interaction. Due to CARAFATE Oral Suspension’s potential to alter the absorption of some drugs, CARAFATE Oral Suspension should be administered separately from other drugs when alterations in bioavailability are felt to be critical. In these cases, patients should be monitored appropriately.
If too much is taken
OVERDOSAGE Due to limited experience in humans with overdosage of sucralfate, no specific treatment recommendations can be given. Acute oral studies in animals, however, using doses up to 12 g/kg body weight, could not find a lethal dose. Sucralfate is only minimally absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. Risks associated with acute overdosage should, therefore, be minimal. In rare reports describing sucralfate overdose, most patients remained asymptomatic. Those few reports where adverse events were described included symptoms of dyspepsia, abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting.
Before you take anything new
Tell your pharmacist or doctor about every medicine you take — including ones bought without a prescription, herbal products and supplements. Interactions are one of the most common avoidable causes of harm from medicines, and a pharmacist can check your full list in a couple of minutes.
This page is built from the openFDA record of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's approved labelling for this product, effective 8 June 2023. 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.