Complete adverse effect profile including incidence rates and management
Important Safety Information
This is not a complete list of all possible side effects. Contact your healthcare provider if you experience any unexpected symptoms. For serious or life-threatening side effects, seek emergency medical attention immediately.
6 ADVERSE REACTIONS Serious adverse reactions are discussed in more detail in the following sections of the labeling: Serious Skin Reactions [see Warnings and Precautions ( 5.1 )] Cardiovascular Conditions [see Warnings and Precautions ( 5.3 )] Gastrointestinal Conditions [see Warnings and Precautions ( 5.4 )] Genitourinary Conditions [see Warnings and Precautions ( 5.5 )] Neurological Conditions [see Warnings and Precautions ( 5.6 )] Pulmonary Conditions [see Warnings and Precautions ( 5.7 )] Deaths in Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) [see Warnings and Precautions ( 5.8 )] The most common adverse reactions (≥5%) were nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness, headache, and decreased appetite ( 6.1 ) To report SUSPECTED ADVERSE REACTIONS, contact Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Inc.
at 1-800-818-4555 or FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or www.fda.gov/medwatch .
6.1 Clinical Trials Experience Because clinical trials are conducted under widely varying conditions, adverse reaction rates observed in the clinical trials of a drug cannot be directly compared to rates in the clinical trials of another drug and may not reflect the rates observed in practice.
The most common adverse reactions (≥5%) in galantamine-treated patients from double-blind clinical trials were nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness, headache, and decreased appetite.
The most common adverse reactions associated with discontinuation (≥1%) in galantamine-treated patients from double-blind clinical trials were nausea (6.2%), vomiting (3.3%), decreased appetite (1.5%), and dizziness (1.3%).
The safety of the extended-release capsule and immediate-release tablet formulations of galantamine was evaluated in 3,956 galantamine-treated patients who participated in 8 placebo-controlled clinical studies and 1,454 patients in 5 open-label clinical studies with mild to moderate dementia of the Alzheimer’s type.
In clinical studies, the safety profile of once-daily treatment with extended-release galantamine was similar in frequency and nature to that seen with tablets.
The information presented in this section was derived from pooled double-blind studies and from pooled open-label data.
Commonly-Observed Adverse Reactions in Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trials Table 1 lists the adverse reactions reported in ≥1% of galantamine-treated patients in 8 placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trials.
Adverse Reactions Reported by ≥1% of Galantamine-Treated Patients in Pooled Placebo-Controlled, Double-Blind Clinical Trials System/Organ Class Adverse Reaction G alantamine (n=3,956) % Placebo (n=2,546) % Metabolism and Nutrition Disorders Decreased appetite 7.4 2.1 Psychiatric Disorders Depression 3.6 2.3 Nervous System Disorders Headache 7.1 5.5 Dizziness 7.5 3.4 Tremor 1.6 0.7 Somnolence 1.5 0.8 Syncope 1.4 0.6 Lethargy 1.3 0.4 Cardiac Disorders Bradycardia 1.0 0.3 Gastrointestinal Disorders Nausea 20.7 5.5 Vomiting 10.5 2.3 Diarrhea 7.4 4.9 Abdominal discomfort 2.1 0.7 Abdominal pain 3.8 2.0 Dyspepsia 1.5 1.0 Musculoskeletal and Connective Tissue Disorders Muscle spasms 1.2 0.5 General Disorders and Administration Site Conditions Fatigue 3.5 1.8 Asthenia 2.0 1.5 Malaise 1.1 0.5 Investigations Decreased weight 4.7 1.5 Injury, Poisoning and Procedural Complications Fall 3.9 3.0 Laceration 1.1 0.5 The majority of these adverse reactions occurred during the dose-escalation period.
5 WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS Serious skin reactions: discontinue at first appearance of skin rash ( 5.1 ) All patients should be considered at risk for adverse effects on cardiac conduction, including bradycardia and AV block, due to vagotonic effects on sinoatrial and atrioventricular nodes ( 5.3 ) Active or occult gastrointestinal bleeding: monitor, especially those with an increased risk for developing ulcers ( 5.4 ) Cholinomimetics may cause bladder outflow obstruction ( 5.5 ) Monitor for respiratory adverse events in patients with a history of severe asthma or obstructive pulmonary disease ( 5.7 ) 5.1 Serious Skin Reactions Serious skin reactions (Stevens-Johnson syndrome and acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis) have been reported in patients receiving galantamine hydrobromide extended-release capsules.
Inform patients and caregivers that the use of galantamine should be discontinued at the first appearance of a skin rash, unless the rash is clearly not drug-related.
If signs or symptoms suggest a serious skin reaction, use of this drug should not be resumed and alternative therapy should be considered.
5.2 Anesthesia Galantamine, as a cholinesterase inhibitor, is likely to exaggerate the neuromuscular blocking effects of succinylcholine-type and similar neuromuscular blocking agents during anesthesia.
5.3 Cardiovascular Conditions Because of their pharmacological action, cholinesterase inhibitors have vagotonic effects on the sinoatrial and atrioventricular nodes, leading to bradycardia and AV block.
Like all medications, Galantamine Hydrobromide can cause side effects. However, not everyone who takes this medication will experience them. Many side effects are dose-dependent and may improve as your body adjusts to the medication. Others may require dose adjustment or medical attention.
Contact your healthcare provider promptly if you experience:
Seek immediate emergency medical care if you experience signs of: