Kevzara Interactions: Alcohol, Medications, and Others

Does Kevzara interact with other drugs?

Before you start using Kevzara, tell your doctor and pharmacist about any prescription, over-the-counter, or other drugs you take. Sharing this information with them may help prevent possible interactions. (To learn whether Kevzara interacts with herbs or vitamins and supplements, see the “Are there other interactions with Kevzara?” section.)

If you have questions about drug interactions that may affect you, talk with your doctor or pharmacist.

The following table lists drugs that may interact with Kevzara. Keep in mind that this table does not include all drugs that may interact with Kevzara. For more information about some of these interactions, see the “Drug interactions explained” section.

When should I avoid Kevzara?

Certain health conditions or other factors could raise your risk of harm if you take Kevzara. In such cases, your doctor may not prescribe Kevzara for you. These are known as contraindications. Allergic reaction is the only contraindication of Kevzara.

If you’ve had an allergic reaction to Kevzara or any of its ingredients, your doctor likely won’t prescribe Kevzara for you. This is because using the drug could cause another allergic reaction. You can ask your doctor about other treatments that may be better options for you.

Does Kevzara interact with alcohol?

Kevzara is not known to interact with alcohol. However, Kevzara can increase your liver enzyme levels, which may be a sign of liver damage. Drinking large amounts of alcohol can also damage your liver. So drinking alcohol with Kevzara may raise your risk of liver damage.

If you have questions about consuming alcohol during your Kevzara treatment, talk with your doctor or pharmacist.

Drug interactions explained

Learn more about certain drug interactions that can occur with Kevzara.

Interaction with corticosteroids

Kevzara can interact with corticosteroids (also called steroids), which are used to treat inflammatory conditions. These include rheumatoid arthritis and polymyalgia rheumatica, which Kevzara is also used to treat in adults.

Examples of corticosteroid medications include:

• methylprednisolone (Medrol)
• prednisolone
• prednisone (Rayos)

What could happen

Kevzara and corticosteroids can both raise your risk of infections. Both can also cause a gastrointestinal perforation (a tear in your stomach or intestines). So combining these drugs can further raise your risk of these side effects.

If you take Kevzara with a corticosteroid, your risk of gastrointestinal perforation may be higher if you:

• have previously had diverticulitis or ulcers in your stomach or intestines
• have diabetes or HIV
• have a weak immune system

It’s important to note that Kevzara has a boxed warning for the risk of serious infections. To learn more, see the “Boxed warning” section.

What you can do

If you take Kevzara and a corticosteroid together, tell your doctor right away if you have symptoms of infection. These may include fever, chills, cough, sore throat, and shortness of breath.

Also tell your doctor right away if you have symptoms of a gastrointestinal perforation. These may include severe abdominal pain that doesn’t go away, fever, nausea, and vomiting.

If you have questions about using Kevzara with a corticosteroid drug, talk with your doctor or pharmacist.

Interaction with certain statins

Kevzara can interact with certain statins, which are used to treat high cholesterol.

Examples of statin medications:

• atorvastatin (Lipitor)
• lovastatin (Altoprev)
• simvastatin (Zocor)

What could happen

Combining Kevzara with certain statins can cause your body to break down these statins more quickly than usual. This can lower the amount of statin in your body, which can make it less effective.

It’s important to note that increased cholesterol levels are a possible side effect of Kevzara. To learn more about the drug’s side effects, see this article.

What you can do

If you take Kevzara with certain statins, your doctor will likely monitor your cholesterol levels more often during your treatment. If needed, they may increase your dosage of the statin drug.

If you have questions about using Kevzara with statins, talk with your doctor or pharmacist.

Interaction with birth control pills

Kevzara can interact with birth control pills, which are used to help prevent pregnancy.

Examples of birth control pills include:

• ethinyl estradiol/drospirenone (Yaz, others)
• ethinyl estradiol/norethindrone (Junel, others)
• ethinyl estradiol/norgestimate (Sprintec, others)

What could happen

Combining Kevzara with birth control pills can cause your body to break down the hormones in the pill more quickly. This can lower the amount of these hormones in your body, which could make the pill less effective at preventing pregnancy.

What you can do

If you can become pregnant, talk with your doctor about your birth control options during your Kevzara treatment. Your doctor may recommend using a form of birth control other than the pill.

If you take Kevzara with a birth control pill, your doctor will likely recommend using a backup method of birth control, such as condoms.

If you have questions about Kevzara and birth control pills, talk with your doctor or pharmacist.

Are there other interactions with Kevzara?

Kevzara may have other interactions, such as with supplements, foods, vaccines, or lab tests. Note that the following information does not include all possible interactions with Kevzara.

Does Kevzara interact with supplements?

Before you start Kevzara treatment, talk with your doctor and pharmacist about any herbs or vitamins and supplements you take. Sharing this information with them may help you avoid possible interactions.

If you have questions about interactions that may affect you, talk with your doctor or pharmacist.

Kevzara and herbs

There are currently no reports of Kevzara interacting with herbs. But this doesn’t mean that interactions with herbs won’t be recognized in the future.

For this reason, it’s still important to check with your doctor or pharmacist before taking any of these products with Kevzara.

Kevzara and vitamins

There are currently no reports of Kevzara interacting with vitamins. But this doesn’t mean that vitamin interactions won’t be recognized in the future.

For this reason, it’s still important to check with your doctor or pharmacist before taking any of these products during your Kevzara treatment.

Does Kevzara interact with food?

There are currently no reports of Kevzara interacting with food. If you have questions about eating certain foods during your treatment with Kevzara, talk with your doctor.

Does Kevzara interact with vaccines?

You should not receive live vaccines during your Kevzara treatment. (Live vaccines contain weakened versions of the bacteria or virus that they’re meant to protect against.) Receiving a live vaccine during your Kevzara treatment increases your risk of infection. This is because Kevzara works by weakening your immune system.

It’s important to note that Kevzara has a boxed warning for the risk of serious infections. For more information about this, see the “Boxed warning” section.

Examples of live vaccines include:

• measles, mumps, rubella (MMR)
• rotavirus
• chickenpox
• nasal spray flu vaccine (FluMist)

If you need to receive a vaccine during your Kevzara treatment, talk with your doctor first to make sure it’s safe.

Does Kevzara interact with lab tests?

There are currently no reports of Kevzara interacting with lab tests. If you have questions about having certain lab tests during your treatment with Kevzara, talk with the healthcare professional ordering the test.

Does Kevzara interact with cannabis or CBD?

There are currently no reports of Kevzara interacting with cannabis (commonly called marijuana) or cannabis products such as cannabidiol (CBD). But as with any drug or supplement, talk with your doctor before using cannabis with Kevzara.

Note: Cannabis is illegal at a federal level but is legal in many states to varying degrees.

Does my health history affect whether I should take Kevzara?

Certain medical conditions or other health factors may raise the risk of interactions with Kevzara. Before starting Kevzara treatment, talk with your doctor about your health history. They’ll determine whether Kevzara is right for you.

Health conditions or other factors that might interact with Kevzara include:

Infections: If you have any active infections (currently causing symptoms) or infections that keep coming back, tell your doctor before starting Kevzara. Also tell them if you’ve had past serious infections, such as tuberculosis (TB) or hepatitis B.

Your doctor likely won’t prescribe Kevzara until any infections you currently have are treated. That’s because Kevzara could worsen any infections you already have. In fact, the drug has a boxed warning about the risk of serious infections. For more information, see the “Boxed warning” section.

Low white blood cell or platelet levels: If you have low levels of white blood cells or platelets, your doctor likely won’t prescribe Kevzara until your levels return to normal. That’s because Kevzara can lower the levels of these blood cells even further. Your doctor will monitor your levels of white blood cells and platelets during your Kevzara treatment.

Liver problems: If you have a liver problem, your doctor will likely not prescribe Kevzara for you. This is because using the drug could make your liver problem worse. Ask your doctor about other treatments that may be better options for you.

High cholesterol: If you have high cholesterol, Kevzara treatment could make it worse. Your doctor will likely check your cholesterol levels more often than usual during your Kevzara treatment.

History of diverticulitis or stomach ulcers: In rare cases, Kevzara may cause a gastrointestinal perforation. If you’ve had diverticulitis or ulcers in your stomach or intestines before, you may have a higher risk of this side effect. Talk with your doctor about whether Kevzara is right for you.

Cancer: Kevzara may raise your risk of developing certain cancers. If you’ve ever had cancer, talk with your doctor about whether Kevzara is safe for you.

Pregnancy: It’s not known whether Kevzara is safe to take during pregnancy. If you’re pregnant or planning a pregnancy, talk with your doctor before starting Kevzara treatment.

Breastfeeding: It’s not known whether it’s safe to take Kevzara while breastfeeding. If you’re breastfeeding or planning to do so, talk with your doctor about your options.

Allergic reaction: If you’ve had an allergic reaction to Kevzara or any of its ingredients, your doctor will likely not prescribe Kevzara for you. This is because using the drug could cause another allergic reaction. You can ask your doctor about other treatments that may be better options for you.

How can I prevent interactions?

Taking certain steps can help you avoid interactions with Kevzara. Before starting treatment, talk with your doctor and pharmacist. Things to discuss with them include:

• whether you drink alcohol or use cannabis
• other medications you take, as well as any vitamins, supplements, and herbs (they can also help you fill out a medication list)
• what to do if you start taking a new drug during your Kevzara treatment

It’s also important to understand Kevzara’s label and other paperwork that may come with the drug. Colored stickers that describe interactions may be on the label. And the paperwork (sometimes called the patient package insert or medication guide) may have other details about interactions. (If you did not get paperwork with Kevzara, ask your pharmacist to print a copy for you.)

If you have trouble reading or understanding this information, your doctor or pharmacist can help.

Taking Kevzara exactly as prescribed can also help prevent interactions.

Disclaimer: Healthline has made every effort to make certain that all information is factually correct, comprehensive, and up to date. However, this article should not be used as a substitute for the knowledge and expertise of a licensed healthcare professional. You should always consult your doctor or another healthcare professional before taking any medication. The drug information contained herein is subject to change and is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, warnings, drug interactions, allergic reactions, or adverse effects. The absence of warnings or other information for a given drug does not indicate that the drug or drug combination is safe, effective, or appropriate for all patients or all specific uses.