(meth EN a meen)
Urinary tract infection, prophylaxis/suppression: Prophylaxis or suppression of recurrent urinary tract infections when long-term therapy is indicated and infection has been eradicated by appropriate antimicrobial treatment
Hypersensitivity to methenamine or any component of the formulation; severe dehydration; renal impairment; severe hepatic impairment; concurrent treatment with sulfonamides
Urinary tract infection, prophylaxis/suppression: Oral:
Hippurate: 1,000 mg twice daily
Mandelate: 1,000 mg 4 times daily
Refer to adult dosing.
Urinary tract infection, prophylaxis/suppression: Oral:
US labeling:
Children <6 years: Mandelate: 250 mg per 14 kg body weight 4 times daily
Children 6 to 12 years:
Hippurate: 500 to 1,000 mg twice daily
Mandelate: 500 mg 4 times daily
Adolescents: Refer to adult dosing.
Canadian labeling: Mandelate:
Children <5 years: 250 mg per 14 kg body weight 4 times daily
Children ≥5 years and Adolescents: 500 mg 4 times daily
Use is contraindicated.
Mild to moderate impairment: There are no dosage adjustments provided in the manufacturer 's labeling; use with caution.
Severe impairment: Use is contraindicated.
Restrict alkalinizing foods and medications to maintain urine pH ≤5.5.
Hippurate: Administer twice daily (morning and night).
Mandelate: Administer 4 times daily (after each meal and at bedtime).
Foods/diets that alkalinize urine pH >5.5 decrease activity of methenamine. Some products may contain tartrazine.
Store at 15 ‚ °C to 30 ‚ °C (59 ‚ °F to 86 ‚ °F).
Excipient information presented when available (limited, particularly for generics); consult specific product labeling. [DSC] = Discontinued product
Tablet, Oral, as hippurate:
Hiprex: 1 g [scored; contains saccharin sodium, tartrazine (fd&c yellow #5)]
Urex: 1 g [DSC]
Generic: 1 g
Tablet, Oral, as mandelate:
Generic: 0.5 g, 1 g
Alpha-/Beta-Agonists (Indirect-Acting): Urinary Acidifying Agents may decrease the serum concentration of Alpha-/Beta-Agonists (Indirect-Acting). Monitor therapy
Amphetamines: Methenamine may decrease the serum concentration of Amphetamines. This effect is likely due to an enhanced excretion of amphetamines in the urine. Monitor therapy
Antacids: May diminish the therapeutic effect of Methenamine. Consider therapy modification
BCG (Intravesical): Antibiotics may diminish the therapeutic effect of BCG (Intravesical). Avoid combination
BCG Vaccine (Immunization): Antibiotics may diminish the therapeutic effect of BCG Vaccine (Immunization). Monitor therapy
Carbonic Anhydrase Inhibitors: May diminish the therapeutic effect of Methenamine. Management: Consider avoiding this combination. Monitor for decreased therapeutic effects of methenamine if used concomitant with a carbonic anhydrase inhibitor. Exceptions: Brinzolamide; Dorzolamide. Consider therapy modification
ChlorproPAMIDE: Urinary Acidifying Agents may increase the serum concentration of ChlorproPAMIDE. Monitor therapy
Cholera Vaccine: Antibiotics may diminish the therapeutic effect of Cholera Vaccine. Avoid combination
Lactobacillus and Estriol: Antibiotics may diminish the therapeutic effect of Lactobacillus and Estriol. Monitor therapy
Mecamylamine: Urinary Acidifying Agents may decrease the serum concentration of Mecamylamine. Monitor therapy
Sodium Picosulfate: Antibiotics may diminish the therapeutic effect of Sodium Picosulfate. Management: Consider using an alternative product for bowel cleansing prior to a colonoscopy in patients who have recently used or are concurrently using an antibiotic. Consider therapy modification
Sulfonamide Derivatives: Methenamine may enhance the adverse/toxic effect of Sulfonamide Derivatives. Specifically, the combination may result in the formation of an insoluble precipitate in the urine. Avoid combination
Typhoid Vaccine: Antibiotics may diminish the therapeutic effect of Typhoid Vaccine. Only the live attenuated Ty21a strain is affected. Management: Vaccination with live attenuated typhoid vaccine (Ty21a) should be avoided in patients being treated with systemic antibacterial agents. Use of this vaccine should be postponed until at least 3 days after cessation of antibacterial agents. Consider therapy modification
Urinalysis, periodic liver function tests
Increased urinary catecholamines, 17-hydroxycorticosteroid and vanillylmandelic acid (VMA) levels; decreased urinary 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5HIAA) and urine estriol levels
Large doses (higher than recommended) have resulted in bladder irritation, frequent/painful micturition, albuminuria, and hematuria.
<4%:
Dermatologic: Pruritus, skin rash
Gastrointestinal: Dyspepsia, nausea, vomiting
<1% (Limited to important or life-threatening): Increased serum ALT (reversible), increased serum AST (reversible)
Disease-related concerns:
- Gout: Avoid use in patients with gout; may precipitate urate crystals in urine.
- Hepatic impairment: Use with caution in patients with hepatic impairment; reversible increases in liver function tests have occurred during therapy; periodically monitor liver function, especially in patients with hepatic impairment. Contraindicated in patients with severe impairment.
Concurrent drug therapy issues:
- Drug-drug interactions: Potentially significant interactions may exist, requiring dose or frequency adjustment, additional monitoring, and/or selection of alternative therapy. Consult drug interactions database for more detailed information.
Dosage form specific issues:
- Tartrazine: Some products may contain tartrazine, which may cause allergic reactions in certain individuals.
Other warnings/precautions:
- Appropriate use: Use only when long-term therapy is indicated and infection has been eradicated by appropriate antimicrobial treatment. Should not be used to treat infections outside of the lower urinary tract. Doses of 8 g daily for 3 to 4 weeks may cause bladder irritation, painful and frequent micturition, and gross hematuria.
- Urinary acidification: Use care to maintain an acid pH of the urine, especially when treating infections due to urea splitting organisms (eg, Proteus and strains of Pseudomonas); when urine acidification is contraindicated or unattainable, use is not recommended.
C (methenamine mandelate)
Adverse events have not been observed in animal reproduction studies with methenamine hippurate; animal reproduction studies have not been conducted with methenamine mandelate. Methenamine crosses the placenta and distributes to amniotic fluid (Allgen, 1979). An increased risk of adverse fetal effects has not been observed in available studies (Furness, 1975; Gordon, 1972; Heinonen, 1977). Methenamine use has been shown to interfere with urine estriol concentrations if measured via acid hydrolysis. Use of enzyme hydrolysis prevents this lab interference.
Methenamine is hydrolyzed to formaldehyde and ammonia in acidic urine; formaldehyde has nonspecific bactericidal action. Other components, hippuric acid or mandelic acid, aid in maintaining urine acidity and may aid in suppressing bacteria.
Readily from the GI tract; 10% to 30% of the drug will be hydrolyzed by gastric juices unless it is protected by an enteric coating
Vd: 0.6 L/kg (Allgen 1979)
Hydrolyzed to formaldehyde and ammonia in the urine; ~10% to 25% in the liver
Urine (~70% to 90% as unchanged drug) within 24 hours
1 to 2 hours (Allgen 1979)
~4 hours (Allgen 1979)
- Discuss specific use of drug and side effects with patient as it relates to treatment. (HCAHPS: During this hospital stay, were you given any medicine that you had not taken before? Before giving you any new medicine, how often did hospital staff tell you what the medicine was for? How often did hospital staff describe possible side effects in a way you could understand?)
- Have patient report immediately to prescriber severe nausea, severe vomiting, bladder pain, painful urination, change in amount of urine passed, or hematuria (HCAHPS).
- Educate patient about signs of a significant reaction (eg, wheezing; chest tightness; fever; itching; bad cough; blue skin color; seizures; or swelling of face, lips, tongue, or throat). Note: This is not a comprehensive list of all side effects. Patient should consult prescriber for additional questions.
Intended Use and Disclaimer: Should not be printed and given to patients. This information is intended to serve as a concise initial reference for healthcare professionals to use when discussing medications with a patient. You must ultimately rely on your own discretion, experience and judgment in diagnosing, treating and advising patients.