Drug points: Severe ergotism associated with interaction between ritonavir and ergotamine

Abstract

Ergotism is a severe complication of chronic abuse or acute intoxication with ergot derivatives. Occasional cases have been reported in patients taking usual doses of ergot combined with drugs that interact with it. 1 2 We report a case of severe ergotism associated with the anti-HIV drug ritonavir. A woman aged 28 who was positive for HIV infection was treated with anti-HIV tritherapy: stavudine (40 mg/12 h), didanosine (200 mg/12 h), and ritonavir (600 mg/12 h). …