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Telmisartan and Amlodipine (Telmisartan / Amlodipine Besylate) - Side Effects and Adverse Reactions

 
 



ADVERSE REACTIONS

Clinical Trials Experience

Because clinical studies are conducted under widely varying conditions, adverse reactions rates observed in the clinical studies of a drug cannot be directly compared to rates in the clinical studies of another drug and may not reflect the rates observed in practice.

Telmisartan and Amlodipine Tablets

The concomitant use of telmisartan and amlodipine has been evaluated for safety in more than 3700 patients with hypertension; approximately 1900 of these patients were exposed for at least 6 months and over 160 of these patients were exposed for at least one year. Adverse reactions have generally been mild and transient in nature and have only infrequently required discontinuation of therapy.

In the placebo-controlled factorial design study, the population treated with a telmisartan and amlodipine combination had a mean age of 53 years and included approximately 50% males, 79% were Caucasian, 17% Blacks, and 4% Asians. Patients received doses ranging from 20/2.5 mg to 80/10 mg orally, once daily.

The frequency of adverse reactions was not related to gender, age, or race.

The adverse reactions that occurred in the placebo-controlled factorial design trial in ≥2% of patients treated with telmisartan and amlodipine and at a higher incidence in telmisartan and amlodipine-treated patients (n=789) than placebo-treated patients (n=46) were peripheral edema (4.8% vs 0%), dizziness (3.0% vs 2.2%), and back pain (2.2% vs 0%). Edema (other than peripheral edema), hypotension, and syncope were reported in <2% of patients treated with telmisartan and amlodipine tablets.

In the placebo-controlled factorial design trial, discontinuation due to adverse events occurred in 2.2% of all treatment cells of patients in the telmisartan/amlodipine-treated patients and in 4.3% in the placebo-treated group. The most common reasons for discontinuation of therapy with telmisartan and amlodipine tablets were peripheral edema, dizziness, and hypotension (each ≤0.5%).

Peripheral edema is a known, dose-dependent adverse reaction of amlodipine, but not of telmisartan. In the factorial design study, the incidence of peripheral edema during the 8 week, randomized, double-blind treatment period was highest with amlodipine 10 mg monotherapy. The incidence was notably lower when telmisartan was used in combination with amlodipine 10 mg.

Table 1: Incidence of Peripheral Edema During the 8 Week Treatment Period


Telmisartan


Placebo
40 mg
80 mg
Amlodipine
Placebo

5 mg

10 mg
0%

0.7%

17.8%
0.8%

1.4%

6.2%
0.7%

2.1%

11.3%

Telmisartan

Telmisartan has been evaluated for safety in more than 3700 patients, including 1900 treated for over 6 months and more than 1300 for over one year. Adverse experiences have generally been mild and transient in nature and have only infrequently required discontinuation of therapy.

In placebo-controlled trials involving 1041 patients treated with various doses of telmisartan (20 to 160 mg) monotherapy for up to 12 weeks, an overall incidence of adverse events was similar to the patients treated with placebo.

Adverse events occurring at an incidence of ≥1% in patients treated with telmisartan and at a greater rate than in patients treated with placebo, irrespective of their causal association, are presented in Table 2.

Table 2: Adverse Events Occurring at an Incidence of ≥1% in Patients Treated with Telmisartan and at a Greater Rate than Patients Treated with Placebo

Telmisartan
n = 1455
%
Placebo
n = 380
%
Upper respiratory tract infection
7
6
Back pain
3
1
Sinusitis
3
2
Diarrhea
3
2
Pharyngitis
1
0

In addition to the adverse events in the table, the following events occurred at a rate of ≥1% but were at least as frequent in the placebo group: influenza-like symptoms, dyspepsia, myalgia, urinary tract infection, abdominal pain, headache, dizziness, pain, fatigue, coughing, hypertension, chest pain, nausea, and peripheral edema. Discontinuation of therapy because of adverse events was required in 2.8% of 1455 patients treated with telmisartan tablets and 6.1% of 380 placebo patients in placebo-controlled clinical trials.

The incidence of adverse events was not dose-related and did not correlate with gender, age, or race of patients.

The incidence of cough occurring with telmisartan in 6 placebo-controlled trials was identical to that noted for placebo-treated patients (1.6%).

In addition to those listed above, adverse events that occurred in >0.3% of 3500 patients treated with telmisartan monotherapy in controlled or open trials are listed below. It cannot be determined whether these events were causally related to telmisartan tablets:

Autonomic Nervous System: impotence, increased sweating, flushing;

Body as a Whole: allergy, fever, leg pain, malaise

Cardiovascular: palpitation, dependent edema, angina pectoris, tachycardia, leg edema, abnormal ECG

CNS: insomnia, somnolence, migraine, vertigo, paresthesia, involuntary muscle contractions, hypoesthesia

Gastrointestinal: flatulence, constipation, gastritis, vomiting, dry mouth, hemorrhoids, gastroenteritis, enteritis, gastroesophageal reflux, toothache, nonspecific gastrointestinal disorders

Metabolic: gout, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes mellitus

Musculoskeletal: arthritis, arthralgia, leg cramps

Psychiatric: anxiety, depression, nervousness

Resistance Mechanism: infection, fungal infection, abscess, otitis media

Respiratory: asthma, bronchitis, rhinitis, dyspnea, epistaxis

Skin: dermatitis, rash, eczema, pruritus;

Urinary : micturition frequency, cystitis

Vascular: cerebrovascular disorder; and

Special Senses: abnormal vision, conjunctivitis, tinnitus, earache.

During initial clinical studies, a single case of angioedema was reported (among a total of 3781 patients treated).

Clinical Laboratory Findings

In placebo-controlled clinical trials, clinically relevant changes in standard laboratory test parameters were rarely associated with administration of telmisartan tablets.

Hemoglobin: A greater than 2 g/dL decrease in hemoglobin was observed in 0.8% telmisartan patients compared with 0.3% placebo patients. No patients discontinued therapy due to anemia.

Creatinine: A 0.5 mg/dL rise or greater in creatinine was observed in 0.4% telmisartan patients compared with 0.3% placebo patients. One telmisartan-treated patient discontinued therapy due to increases in creatinine and blood urea nitrogen.

Liver Enzymes: Occasional elevations of liver chemistries occurred in patients treated with telmisartan; all marked elevations occurred at a higher frequency with placebo. No telmisartan-treated patients discontinued therapy due to abnormal hepatic function.

Amlodipine

Amlodipine has been evaluated for safety in more than 11,000 patients in U.S. and foreign clinical trials. Most adverse reactions reported during therapy with amlodipine were of mild or moderate severity. In controlled clinical trials directly comparing amlodipine (n=1730) in doses up to 10 mg to placebo (n=1250), discontinuation of amlodipine due to adverse reactions was required in only about 1.5% of amlodipine-treated patients and was not significantly different from that seen in placebo-treated patients (about 1%). The most common side effects were headache and edema. The incidence (%) of side effects which occurred in a dose-related manner are presented in Table 3.

Table 3: Incidence (%) of Dose-Related Adverse Effects with Amlodipine at Doses of 2.5 mg, 5.0 mg, and 10.0 mg or Placebo
Adverse  Event
Amlodipine  2 . mg  n = 275
                   %
Amlodipine  5 . mg  n = 296
%
Amlodipine  10 . mg  n = 268
%
Placebo
n = 520
%
Edema
1.8
3.0
10.8
0.6
Dizziness
1.1
3.4
3.4
1.5
Flushing
0.7
1.4
2.6
0.0
Palpitations
0.7
1.4
4.5
0.6

Other adverse experiences which were not clearly dose related but which were reported with an incidence greater than 1% in placebo-controlled clinical trials are presented in Table 4.

Table 4: Incidence (%) of Adverse Effects Not Clearly Dose Related but Reported at an Incidence of >1% in Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trials
Adverse  Event
Amlodipine
n = 1730
%
Placebo
n = 1250
%
Headache
7.3
7.8
Fatigue
4.5
2.8
Nausea
2.9
1.9
Abdominal pain
1.6
0.3
Somnolence
1.4
0.6

The following events occurred in <1% but >0.1% of patients in controlled clinical trials or under conditions of open trials or marketing experience where a causal relationship is uncertain; they are listed to alert the physician to a possible relationship:

Cardiovascular: arrhythmia (including ventricular tachycardia and atrial fibrillation), bradycardia, chest pain, hypotension, peripheral ischemia, syncope, tachycardia, postural dizziness, postural hypotension, vasculitis

Central and Peripheral Nervous System: hypoesthesia, neuropathy peripheral, paresthesia, tremor, vertigo

Gastrointestinal: anorexia, constipation, dyspepsia,** dysphagia, diarrhea, flatulence, pancreatitis, vomiting, gingival hyperplasia, change of bowel habit

General: allergic reaction, asthenia,** back pain, hot flushes, malaise, pain, rigors, weight gain, weight decrease

Musculoskeletal System: arthralgia, arthrosis, muscle cramps,** myalgia

Psychiatric: sexual dysfunction (male** and female), insomnia, nervousness, depression, abnormal dreams, anxiety, depersonalization, mood change

Respiratory System: dyspnea,** epistaxis

Skin and Appendages: angioedema, erythema multiforme, pruritus,** rash,** rash erythematous, rash maculopapular

Special Senses: abnormal vision, conjunctivitis, diplopia, eye pain, tinnitus

Urinary System: micturition frequency, micturition disorder, nocturia

Autonomic Nervous System: dry mouth, sweating increased

Metabolic and Nutritional: hyperglycemia, thirst

Hemopoietic: leukopenia, purpura, thrombocytopenia

**These events occurred in less than 1% in placebo-controlled trials, but the incidence of these side effects was between 1% and 2% in all multiple dose studies.

The following events occurred in <0.1% of patients: cardiac failure, pulse irregularity, extrasystoles, skin discoloration, urticaria, skin dryness, alopecia, dermatitis, muscle weakness, twitching, ataxia, hypertonia, migraine, cold and clammy skin, apathy, agitation, amnesia, gastritis, increased appetite, loose stools, coughing, rhinitis, dysuria, polyuria, parosmia, taste perversion, abnormal visual accommodation, and xerophthalmia.

Other reactions occurred sporadically and cannot be distinguished from medications or concurrent disease states such as myocardial infarction and angina.

Amlodipine has not been associated with clinically significant changes in routine laboratory tests. No clinically relevant changes were noted in serum potassium, serum glucose, total triglycerides, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, uric acid, blood urea nitrogen, or creatinine.

Amlodipine has been used safely in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, well-compensated congestive heart failure, coronary artery disease, peripheral vascular disease, diabetes mellitus, and abnormal lipid profiles.

Adverse reactions reported for amlodipine for indications other than hypertension may be found in the prescribing information for Norvasc®.

Postmarketing Experience

The following adverse reactions have been identified during post-approval use of telmisartan or amlodipine. Because these reactions are reported voluntarily from a population of uncertain size, it is not always possible to estimate reliably their frequency or establish a causal relationship to drug exposure. Decisions to include these reactions in labeling are typically based on one or more of the following factors: (1) seriousness of the reaction, (2) frequency of reporting, or (3) strength of causal connection to telmisartan or amlodipine.

Telmisartan

The most frequently spontaneously reported events include: headache, dizziness, asthenia, coughing, nausea, fatigue, weakness, edema, face edema, lower limb edema, angioneurotic edema, urticaria, hypersensitivity, sweating increased, erythema, chest pain, atrial fibrillation, congestive heart failure, myocardial infarction, blood pressure increased, hypertension aggravated, hypotension (including postural hypotension), hyperkalemia, syncope, dyspepsia, diarrhea, pain, urinary tract infection, erectile dysfunction, back pain, abdominal pain, muscle cramps (including leg cramps), myalgia, bradycardia, eosinophilia, thrombocytopenia, uric acid increased, abnormal hepatic function/liver disorder, renal impairment including acute renal failure, anemia, and increased CPK, anaphylactic reaction, tendon pain (including tendonitis, tenosynovitis), drug eruption (e.g. toxic skin eruption mostly reported as toxicoderma, rash, and urticaria), hypoglycemia (in diabetic patients), and angioedema (with fatal outcome).

Rare cases of rhabdomyolysis have been reported in patients receiving angiotensin II receptor blockers, including telmisartan.

Amlodipine

Gynecomastia has been reported infrequently and a causal relationship is uncertain. Jaundice and hepatic enzyme elevations (mostly consistent with cholestasis or hepatitis), in some cases severe enough to require hospitalization, have been reported in association with use of amlodipine.

Drug label data at the top of this Page last updated: 2014-01-07

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