Large doses of methenamine (8 grams daily for 3 to 4 weeks) have caused bladder irritation, painful and frequent micturi-tion, albuminuria, and gross hematuria.

Prescribing HIPREX in the absence of a proven or strongly suspected bacterial infection or a prophylactic indication is unlikely to provide benefit to the patient and increases the risk of the development of drug-resistant bacteria.

1. Care should be taken to maintain an acid pH of the urine, especially when treating infections due to urea-splitting organisms such as Proteus and strains of Pseudomonas.

2. In a few instances in one study, the serum transami-nase levels were slightly elevated during treatment but returned to normal while the patients were still taking HIPREX. Because of this report, it is recommended that liver function studies be performed periodically on patients taking the drug, especially those with liver dysfunction.

3. Use in Pregnancy: In early pregnancy the safe use of HIPREX is not established. In the last trimester, safety is suggested, but not definitely proved. No adverse effects on the fetus were seen in studies in pregnant rats and rabbits.

HIPREX taken during pregnancy can interfere with laboratory tests of urine estriol (resulting in unmea-surably low values) when acid hydrolysis is used in the laboratory procedure. This interference is due to the presence in the urine of methenamine and/or formaldehyde. Enzymatic hydrolysis, in place of acid hydrolysis, will circumvent this problem.

4. This product contains FD&C Yellow No. 5 (tartrazine), which may cause allergic-type reactions (including bronchial asthma) in certain susceptible individuals. Although the overall incidence of FD&C Yellow No. 5 (tartrazine) sensitivity in the general population is low, it is frequently seen in patients who also have aspirin hypersensitivity.

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