Accolate

Accolate is a medicine that is used for preventing asthma attacks in both adults and children. Although the medication is not a cure for asthma, it can help improve breathing and prevent asthma attacks from occurring. Accolate comes in tablet form and is available by prescription. Some of the side effects seen with Accolate include diarrhea, infections, nausea, and headaches.

 

What Is Accolate?

Accolate® (zafirlukast) is a prescription medication used to prevent asthma attacks in adults and children as young as five years old.
 
(Click Accolate Uses for more information on what Accolate is used for, including possible off-label uses of the medication.)
 

Who Makes Accolate?

Accolate is made by AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals.
 

How Does Accolate Work?

Accolate is part of a group of medications called leukotriene modifiers. Leukotrienes are chemicals produced by the body in response to allergens or other problems. In the lungs, leukotrienes cause swelling and inflammation in the airways and constriction of the muscles of the respiratory tract.
 
Accolate works by blocking leukotriene receptors, which prevents leukotriene chemicals from causing asthma symptoms.
 

Accolate Effects

In previous studies of Accolate for asthma, people taking Accolate had improved breathing and fewer daytime and nighttime asthma symptoms, compared to those not taking the medicine. Accolate was also shown to be safe and effective for treating asthma in children as young as five years old.
 

When and How to Take Accolate

Following are some general considerations for when and how to take Accolate:
 
  • Accolate comes in tablet form and is taken by mouth twice daily.
     
  • Accolate should be taken on an empty stomach, at least one hour before or two hours after a meal.
     
  • Accolate should be taken at the same time each day to maintain even levels of the drug in your blood.
     
  • For Accolate to work properly, it must be taken as prescribed. The medication will not work if you stop taking it.
     
(Accolate Continued: Page 2)
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Written by/reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD; Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD;