Allopurinol and Theophylline Interaction

Drug interaction information between Allopurinol and Theophylline.

Allopurinol and Theophylline have a documented minor interaction in FDA labeling.

FDA drug labeling documents a minor-severity interaction between Allopurinol and Theophylline. This page displays the available source-record category and label text. The category is not an individual risk estimate or medication-combination direction.

Drug A

Allopurinol

Xanthine Oxidase Inhibitor

Drug B

Theophylline

Methylxanthine Bronchodilator

How They Interact

Taking high doses of allopurinol can make it harder for the body to get rid of theophylline. This can lead to higher levels of theophylline in your system.

FDA Label Information

Theophylline Clinical Impact Concomitant use of allopurinol doses greater than or equal to 600 mg/day may decrease the clearance of theophylline. Intervention Monitor and adjust theophylline doses as reflected in the prescribing information.

Frequently Asked Questions

What SPL severity band is on file for Allopurinol + Theophylline?

Compiled FDA labeling labels this pair minor. That is a source-record field, not an individual medication-combination decision.

Which drug in this pair has the larger labeled-interaction portfolio?

Theophylline has 86 labeled pairs on file vs Allopurinol's 10. In the minor band specifically: Allopurinol has 6 (also Warfarin, Ampicillin/Sulbactam, Famciclovir, Prazosin); Theophylline has 54 (also Propranolol, Methotrexate, Diazepam, Lithium).

What mechanism field is on file for Allopurinol and Theophylline?

Taking high doses of allopurinol can make it harder for the body to get rid of theophylline. This can lead to higher levels of theophylline in your system.

Theophylline carries more major-labeled pairs than Allopurinol

SPL source-record counts only. This page's band is minor · classes on file: Allopurinol (Xanthine Oxidase Inhibitor); Theophylline (Methylxanthine Bronchodilator).

Theophylline has 27 major-labeled pairs vs Allopurinol's 1. This page itself is in the minor band, not the major band.

Allopurinol

1 major · 3 moderate · 6 minor · 10 total

Theophylline

27 major · 5 moderate · 54 minor · 86 total

Sources: FDA Drug Labels (SPL) via openFDA (2026). This is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice. This registry does not provide individual medication-combination directions.