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Ethambutol (Ethambutol Hydrochloride) - Warnings and Precautions

 
 



WARNINGS

Ethambutol Hydrochloride Tablets may produce decreases in visual acuity which appear to be due to optic neuritis. This effect may be related to dose and duration of treatment. This effect is generally reversible when administration of the drug is discontinued promptly. However, irreversible blindness has been reported. (See PRECAUTIONS and ADVERSE REACTIONS).
Liver toxicities including fatalities have been reported (See ADVERSE REACTIONS). Baseline and periodic assessment of hepatic function should be performed.

PRECAUTIONS

Ethambutol Hydrochloride Tablets are not recommended for use in pediatric patients under 13 years of age since safe conditions for use have not been established.
Patients with decreased renal function need the dosage reduced as determined by serum levels of Ethambutol Hydrochloride Tablets, since the main path of excretion of this drug is by the kidneys.
Because this drug may have adverse effects on vision, physical examination should include ophthalmoscopy, finger perimetry and testing of color discrimination. In patients with visual defects such as cataracts, recurrent inflammatory conditions of the eye, optic neuritis, and diabetic retinopathy, the evaluation of changes in visual acuity is more difficult, and care should be taken to be sure the variations in vision are not due to the underlying disease conditions. In such patients, consideration should be given to relationship between benefits expected and possible visual deterioration since evaluation of visual changes is difficult. (For recommended procedures, see next paragraphs under ADVERSE REACTIONS).
As with any potent drug, baseline and periodic assessment of organ system functions, including renal, hepatic, and hematopoietic, should be performed.

PREGNANCY

Teratogenic Effects: Pregnancy Category C.
There are no adequate and well-controlled studies in pregnant women. There are reports of ophthalmic abnormalities occurring in infants born to women on antituberculous therapy that included Ethambutol Hydrochloride Tablets. Ethambutol Hydrochloride Tablets should be used during pregnancy, only if the benefit justifies the potential risk to the fetus.
Ethambutol Hydrochloride Tablets have been shown to be teratogenic in pregnant mice and rabbits when given in high doses. When pregnant mice or rabbits were treated with high doses of ethambutol hydrochloride, fetal mortality was slightly but not significantly (P > 0.05) increased. Female rats treated with ethambutol hydrochloride displayed slight but insignificant (P > 0.05) decreases in fertility and litter size. In fetuses born of mice treated with high doses of Ethambutol Hydrochloride Tablets during pregnancy, a low incidence of cleft palate, exencephaly and abnormality of the vertebral column were observed. Minor abnormalities of the cervical vertebra were seen in the newborn of rats treated with high doses of ethambutol hydrochloride during pregnancy. Rabbits receiving high doses of Ethambutol Hydrochloride Tablets during pregnancy gave birth to two fetuses with monophthalmia, one with a shortened right forearm accompanied by bilateral wrist-joint contracture and one with hare lip and cleft palate.

NURSING MOTHERS

Ethambutol Hydrochloride Tablets are excreted into breast milk. The use of Ethambutol Hydrochloride Tablets should be considered only if the expected benefit to the mother outweighs the potential risk to the infant.

PEDIATRIC USE

Ethambutol Hydrochloride Tablets are not recommended for use in pediatric patients under 13 years of age since safe conditions for use have not been established.

GERIATRIC USE

There are limited data on the use of Ethambutol Hydrochloride Tablets in the elderly. One study of 101 patients, 65 years and older, on multiple drug antituberculosis regimens included 94 patients on Ethambutol Hydrochloride Tablets. No differences in safety or tolerability were observed in these patients compared with that reported in adults in general. Other reported clinical experience has not identified differences in responses between the elderly and younger patients, but greater sensitivity of some older individuals cannot be ruled out.

Page last updated: 2011-08-01

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