Ticlopidine Hydrochloride and Xifaxan

• Generic Name: ticlopidine
• Dosage Forms: n.a.
• Other Brand Names: Ticlid

Used to reduce the risk of fatal or nonfatal thrombotic stroke in patients who have had either a previous completed thrombotic stroke or stroke precursors (e.g., TIA, transient monocular or partial blindness [amaurosis fugax], reversible ischemic neurologic deficit, minor stroke).

Because of potentially life-threatening adverse effects (see Boxed Warning), reserve for patients who are unable to tolerate or have hypersensitivity to aspirin or those who have failed to respond to aspirin therapy where indicated to prevent stroke.

The American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) states that use of ticlopidine for secondary prevention of stroke has become severely limited because of the risk of serious adverse effects and the availability of safer antiplatelet agents.

Used as an adjunct to aspirin therapy to reduce the incidence of subacute stent thrombosis after PCI with successful coronary artery stent placement.

Ticlopidine for this use largely has been replaced by other antiplatelet agents. ACCP and other experts currently recommend dual-drug antiplatelet therapy with other P2Y12-receptor antagonists (e.g., clopidogrel, prasugrel, ticagrelor) and aspirin in patients undergoing PCI with stent placement.

• Generic Name: rifaximin
• Dosage Forms: tablet
• Other Brand Names: Xifaxan

Xifaxan (rifaximin) is an antibiotic that fights bacterial infection only in the intestines.

Rifaximin works differently from other antibiotics because it passes through your stomach and into your intestines without being absorbed into your blood stream. Because rifaximin treats only the intestinal tract, it will not treat infections of other parts of the body.

Xifaxan is used to treat travelers' diarrhea caused by Escherichia coli (E. coli) in adults and children who are at least 12 years old. Most people get this infection by eating food or drinking fluids that have been contaminated with the E. coli bacteria.

Xifaxan is also used to treat irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in adults whose main symptom is diarrhea.

Xifaxan is also used to lower the risk of a decline in brain function in adults with liver failure. Brain function can be affected when the liver stops working and cannot remove toxic substances from the body.