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Ibandronate (Ibandronate Sodium) - Warnings and Precautions

 
 



WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS

Hypocalcemia and Mineral Metabolism

Ibandronate sodium injection may cause a decrease in serum calcium values. Treat hypocalcemia, hypovitaminosis D, and other disturbances of bone and mineral metabolism before starting ibandronate sodium injection therapy.

Adequate intake of calcium and vitamin D is important in all patients. It is recommended that patients receive supplemental calcium and vitamin D if dietary intake is inadequate.

Anaphylactic Reaction

Cases of anaphylaxis, including fatal events, have been reported in patients treated with ibandronate sodium injection.

Appropriate medical support and monitoring measures should be readily available when ibandronate sodium injection is administered. If anaphylactic or other severe hypersensitivity/allergic reactions occur, immediately discontinue the injection and initiate appropriate treatment.

Renal Impairment

Treatment with intravenous bisphosphonates has been associated with renal toxicity manifested as deterioration in renal function and acute renal failure. Although no cases of acute renal failure were observed in controlled clinical trials in which intravenous ibandronate sodium was administered as a 15- to 30-second bolus, acute renal failure has been reported postmarketing. Do not administer ibandronate sodium injection to patients with severe renal impairment (creatinine clearance less than 30 mL/min).

Obtain serum creatinine prior to each ibandronate sodium injection. After ibandronate sodium injection, assess renal function, as clinically appropriate, in patients with concomitant diseases or taking medications that have the potential for adverse effects on the kidney. Ibandronate sodium injection should be withheld in patients with renal deterioration.

Tissue Damage Related to Inappropriate Drug Administration

Ibandronate sodium injection must only be administered intravenously. Care must be taken not to administer ibandronate sodium injection intra-arterially or paravenously as this could lead to tissue damage.

Do not administer ibandronate sodium injection by any other route of administration. The safety and efficacy of ibandronate sodium injection following non-intravenous routes of administration have not been established.

Osteonecrosis of the Jaw

Osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) has been reported in patients treated with bisphosphonates, including ibandronate sodium injection. Most cases have been in cancer patients treated with intravenous bisphosphonates undergoing dental procedures. Some cases have occurred in patients with postmenopausal osteoporosis treated with either oral or intravenous bisphosphonates. A routine oral examination should be performed by the prescriber prior to initiation of bisphosphonate treatment. Consider a dental examination with appropriate preventive dentistry prior to treatment with bisphosphonates in patients with a history of concomitant risk factors (e.g., cancer, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, corticosteroids, poor oral hygiene, pre-existing dental disease or infection, anemia, coagulopathy).

While on treatment, patients with concomitant risk factors should avoid invasive dental procedures if possible.

For patients who develop ONJ while on bisphosphonate therapy, dental surgery may exacerbate the condition. For patients requiring dental procedures, there are no data available to suggest whether discontinuation of bisphosphonate treatment reduces the risk of ONJ. The clinical judgment of the treating physician should guide the management plan of each patient based on individual benefit/risk assessment [see Adverse Reactions ].

Musculoskeletal Pain

Severe and occasionally incapacitating bone, joint, and/or muscle pain has been reported in patients taking ibandronate sodium and other bisphosphonates [see Adverse Reactions]. The time to onset of symptoms varied from one day to several months after starting the drug. Most patients had relief of symptoms after stopping the bisphosphonate. A subset of patients had recurrence of symptoms when rechallenged with the same drug or another bisphosphonate. Discontinue ibandronate sodium if severe symptoms develop.

Atypical Subtrochanteric and Diaphyseal Femoral Fractures

Atypical, low-energy, or low-trauma fractures of the femoral shaft have been reported in bisphosphonate-treated patients. These fractures can occur anywhere in the femoral shaft from just below the lesser trochanter to above the supracondylar flare and are transverse or short oblique in orientation without evidence of comminution. Causality has not been established as these fractures also occur in osteoporotic patients who have not been treated with bisphosphonates.

Atypical femur fractures most commonly occur with minimal or no trauma to the affected area. They may be bilateral and many patients report prodromal pain in the affected area, usually presenting as dull, aching thigh pain, weeks to months before a complete fracture occurs. A number of reports note that patients were also receiving treatment with glucocorticoids (e.g., prednisone) at the time of fracture.

Any patient with a history of bisphosphonate exposure who presents with thigh or groin pain should be suspected of having an atypical fracture and should be evaluated to rule out an incomplete femur fracture. Patients presenting with an atypical fracture should also be assessed for symptoms and signs of fracture in the contralateral limb. Interruption of bisphosphonate therapy should be considered, pending a risk/benefit assessment, on an individual basis.

USE IN SPECIFIC POPULATIONS

Pregnancy

Pregnancy Category C: There are no adequate and well-controlled studies in pregnant women. Ibandronate sodium should be used during pregnancy only if the potential benefit justifies the potential risk to the fetus.

Bisphosphonates are incorporated into the bone matrix, from where they are gradually released over periods of weeks to years. The extent of bisphosphonate incorporation into adult bone, and hence, the amount available for release back into the systemic circulation, is directly related to the total dose and duration of bisphosphonate use. Although there are no data on fetal risk in humans, bisphosphonates do cause fetal harm in animals, and animal data suggest that uptake of bisphosphonates into fetal bone is greater than into maternal bone. Therefore, there is a theoretical risk of fetal harm (e.g., skeletal and other abnormalities) if a woman becomes pregnant after completing a course of bisphosphonate therapy. The impact of variables such as time between cessation of bisphosphonate therapy to conception, the particular bisphosphonate used, and the route of administration (intravenous versus oral) on this risk has not been established.

In pregnant rats given intravenous doses greater than or equal to 2 times human exposure from Day 17 post-coitum until Day 20 post-partum, ibandronate treatment resulted in dystocia, maternal mortality, and early postnatal pup loss in all dose groups. Reduced body weight at birth was observed at greater than or equal to 4 times the human exposure. Pups exhibited abnormal odontogeny that decreased food consumption and body weight gain at greater than or equal to 18 times human exposure. Periparturient mortality has also been observed with other bisphosphonates and appears to be a class effect related to inhibition of skeletal calcium mobilization resulting in hypocalcemia and dystocia.

Exposure of pregnant rats during the period of organogenesis resulted in an increased fetal incidence of RPU (renal pelvis ureter) syndrome at an intravenous dose greater than or equal to 47 times human exposure. In this spontaneous delivery study, dystocia was counteracted by perinatal calcium supplementation. In rat studies with intravenous dosing during gestation, fetal weight and pup growth were reduced at doses greater than or equal to 5 times human exposure.

In pregnant rabbits given intravenous doses during the period of organogenesis, maternal mortality, reduced maternal body weight gain, decreased litter size due to increased resorption rate, and decreased fetal weight were observed at 19 times the recommended human intravenous dose.

Exposure multiples for the rat studies were calculated using human exposure at the recommended intravenous dose of 3 mg every 3 months and were based on cumulative area under the time-concentration (AUC) comparison. Exposure multiples for the rabbit study were calculated for the recommended human intravenous dose of 3 mg every 3 months and were based on cumulative dose/[body surface area] comparison. Doses in pregnant animals were 0.05, 0.1, 0.15, 0.3, 0.5 or 1 mg/kg/day in rats, and 0.03, 0.07, or 0.2 mg/kg/day in rabbits.

Nursing Mothers

It is not known whether ibandronate sodium is excreted in human milk. Because many drugs are excreted in human milk, caution should be exercised when ibandronate sodium injection is administered to a nursing woman. In lactating rats treated with intravenous doses of 0.08 mg/kg, ibandronate was present in breast milk at concentrations of 8.1 to 0.4 ng/mL from 2 to 24 hours after dose administration. Concentrations in milk averaged 1.5 times plasma concentrations.

Pediatric Use

Safety and effectiveness of ibandronate sodium in pediatric patients have not been established.

Geriatric Use

Of the patients receiving ibandronate sodium injection 3 mg (ibandronate) every 3 months for 1 year, 51% were over 65 years of age. No overall differences in effectiveness or safety were observed between these patients and younger patients, but greater sensitivity in some older individuals cannot be ruled out.

Renal Impairment

Ibandronate sodium injection should not be administered to patients with severe renal impairment (creatinine clearance less than 30 mL/min) [see Warnings and Precautions].

Page last updated: 2014-04-01

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