WARNINGS
SERIOUS AND OCCASIONALLY FATAL HYPERSENSITIVITY (ANAPHYLACTIC) REACTIONS HAVE BEEN REPORTED IN PATIENTS ON PENICILLIN THERAPY. THESE REACTIONS ARE MORE LIKELY TO OCCUR IN INDIVIDUALS WITH A HISTORY OF PENICILLIN HYPERSENSITIVITY AND/OR A HISTORY OF SENSITIVITY TO MULTIPLE ALLERGENS. THERE HAVE BEEN REPORTS OF INDIVIDUALS WITH A HISTORY OF PENICILLIN HYPERSENSITIVITY WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED SEVERE REACTIONS WHEN TREATED WITH CEPHALOSPORINS. BEFORE INITIATING THERAPY WITH AUGMENTIN ES-600, CAREFUL INQUIRY SHOULD BE MADE CONCERNING PREVIOUS HYPERSENSITIVITY REACTIONS TO PENICILLINS, CEPHALOSPORINS, OR OTHER ALLERGENS. IF AN ALLERGIC REACTION OCCURS, AUGMENTIN ES-600 SHOULD BE DISCONTINUED AND THE APPROPRIATE THERAPY INSTITUTED. SERIOUS ANAPHYLACTIC REACTIONS REQUIRE IMMEDIATE EMERGENCY TREATMENT WITH EPINEPHRINE. OXYGEN, INTRAVENOUS STEROIDS, AND AIRWAY MANAGEMENT, INCLUDING INTUBATION, SHOULD ALSO BE ADMINISTERED AS INDICATED.
Pseudomembranous colitis has been reported with nearly all antibacterial agents, including amoxicillin/clavulanate potassium, and has ranged in severity from mild to life-threatening. Therefore, it is important to consider this diagnosis in patients who present with diarrhea subsequent to the administration of antibacterial agents.
Treatment with antibacterial agents alters the normal flora of the colon and may permit overgrowth of clostridia. Studies indicate that a toxin produced by Clostridium difficile is one primary cause of“antibiotic-associated colitis.”
After the diagnosis of pseudomembranous colitis has been established, appropriate therapeutic measures should be initiated. Mild cases of pseudomembranous colitis usually respond to drug discontinuation alone. In moderate to severe cases, consideration should be given to management with fluids and electrolytes, protein supplementation, and treatment with an antibacterial drug clinically effective against C. difficile colitis.
AUGMENTIN ES-600 should be used with caution in patients with evidence of hepatic dysfunction. Hepatic toxicity associated with the use of amoxicillin/clavulanate potassium is usually reversible. On rare occasions, deaths have been reported (less than 1 death reported per estimated 4 million prescriptions worldwide). These have generally been cases associated with serious underlying diseases or concomitant medications. (See CONTRAINDICATIONS and ADVERSE REACTIONS—Liver.)
PRECAUTIONS
General
While amoxicillin/clavulanate possesses the characteristic low toxicity of the penicillin group of antibiotics, periodic assessment of organ system functions, including renal, hepatic, and hematopoietic function, is advisable if therapy is for longer than the drug is approved for administration.
A high percentage of patients with mononucleosis who receive ampicillin develop an erythematous skin rash. Thus, ampicillin-class antibiotics should not be administered to patients with mononucleosis.
The possibility of superinfections with mycotic or bacterial pathogens should be kept in mind during therapy. If superinfections occur (usually involving Pseudomonas or Candida), the drug should be discontinued and/or appropriate therapy instituted.
Prescribing AUGMENTIN ES-600 in the absence of a proven or strongly suspected bacterial infection or a prophylactic indication is unlikely to provide benefit to the patient and increases the risk of the development of drug-resistant bacteria.
Information for the Patient
AUGMENTIN ES-600 should be taken every 12 hours with a meal or snack to reduce the possibility of gastrointestinal upset. If diarrhea develops and is severe or lasts more than 2 or 3 days, call your doctor.
Keep suspension refrigerated. Shake well before using. When dosing a child with the suspension (liquid) of AUGMENTIN ES-600, use a dosing spoon or medicine dropper. Be sure to rinse the spoon or dropper after each use. Bottles of suspension of AUGMENTIN ES-600 may contain more liquid than required. Follow your doctor’s instructions about the amount to use and the days of treatment your child requires. Discard any unused medicine.
Patients should be counseled that antibacterial drugs, including AUGMENTIN ES-600, should only be used to treat bacterial infections. They do not treat viral infections (e.g., the common cold). When AUGMENTIN ES-600 is prescribed to treat a bacterial infection, patients should be told that although it is common to feel better early in the course of therapy, the medication should be taken exactly as directed. Skipping doses or not completing the full course of therapy may: (1) decrease the effectiveness of the immediate treatment, and (2) increase the likelihood that bacteria will develop resistance and will not be treatable by AUGMENTIN ES-600 or other antibacterial drugs in the future.
Phenylketonurics
Each 5 mL of the 600 mg/5 mL suspension of AUGMENTIN ES-600 contains 7 mg phenylalanine.
Drug Interactions
Probenecid decreases the renal tubular secretion of amoxicillin. Concurrent use with AUGMENTIN ES-600 may result in increased and prolonged blood levels of amoxicillin. Co-administration of probenecid cannot be recommended.
The concurrent administration of allopurinol and ampicillin increases substantially the incidence of rashes in patients receiving both drugs as compared to patients receiving ampicillin alone. It is not known whether this potentiation of ampicillin rashes is due to allopurinol or the hyperuricemia present in these patients. There are no data with AUGMENTIN ES-600 and allopurinol administered concurrently.
In common with other broad-spectrum antibiotics, amoxicillin/clavulanate may reduce the efficacy of oral contraceptives.
Drug/Laboratory Test Interactions
Oral administration of AUGMENTIN will result in high urine concentrations of amoxicillin. High urine concentrations of ampicillin may result in false-positive reactions when testing for the presence of glucose in urine using CLINITEST®, Benedict’s Solution, or Fehling’s Solution. Since this effect may also occur with amoxicillin and therefore AUGMENTIN ES-600, it is recommended that glucose tests based on enzymatic glucose oxidase reactions (such as CLINISTIX®) be used.
Following administration of ampicillin to pregnant women, a transient decrease in plasma concentration of total conjugated estriol, estriol-glucuronide, conjugated estrone, and estradiol has been noted. This effect may also occur with amoxicillin and therefore AUGMENTIN ES-600 .
Carcinogenesis, Mutagenesis, Impairment of Fertility
Long-term studies in animals have not been performed to evaluate carcinogenic potential. The mutagenic potential of AUGMENTIN was investigated in vitro with an Ames test, a human lymphocyte cytogenetic assay, a yeast test, and a mouse lymphoma forward mutation assay, and in vivo with mouse micronucleus tests and a dominant lethal test. All were negative apart from the in vitro mouse lymphoma assay where weak activity was found at very high, cytotoxic concentrations. AUGMENTIN at oral doses of up to 1,200 mg/kg/day (5.7 times the maximum adult human dose based on body surface area) was found to have no effect on fertility and reproductive performance in rats, dosed with a 2:1 ratio formulation of amoxicillin:clavulanate.
Teratogenic Effects
Pregnancy (Category B). Reproduction studies performed in pregnant rats and mice given AUGMENTIN at oral dosages up to 1,200 mg/kg/day (4.9 and 2.8 times the maximum adult human oral dose based on body surface area, respectively), revealed no evidence of harm to the fetus due to AUGMENTIN. There are, however, no adequate and well-controlled studies in pregnant women. Because animal reproduction studies are not always predictive of human response, this drug should be used during pregnancy only if clearly needed.
Labor and Delivery
Oral ampicillin-class antibiotics are generally poorly absorbed during labor. Studies in guinea pigs have shown that intravenous administration of ampicillin decreased the uterine tone, frequency of contractions, height of contractions, and duration of contractions. However, it is not known whether the use of AUGMENTIN in humans during labor or delivery has immediate or delayed adverse effects on the fetus, prolongs the duration of labor, or increases the likelihood that forceps delivery or other obstetrical intervention or resuscitation of the newborn will be necessary. In a single study in women with premature rupture of fetal membranes, it was reported that prophylactic treatment with AUGMENTIN may be associated with an increased risk of necrotizing enterocolitis in neonates.
Nursing Mothers
Ampicillin-class antibiotics are excreted in human milk; therefore, caution should be exercised when AUGMENTIN is administered to a nursing woman.
Pediatric Use
Safety and efficacy of AUGMENTIN ES-600 in infants younger than 3 months have not been established. Safety and efficacy of AUGMENTIN ES-600 have been demonstrated for treatment of acute otitis media in infants and children 3 months to 12 years (see Description of Clinical Studies).
The safety and effectiveness of AUGMENTIN ES–600 have been established for the treatment of pediatric patients (3 months to 12 years) with acute bacterial sinusitis. This use is supported by evidence from adequate and well-controlled studies of AUGMENTIN XR™ Extended Release Tablets in adults with acute bacterial sinusitis, studies of AUGMENTIN ES-600 in pediatric patients with acute otitis media, and by similar pharmacokinetics of amoxicillin and clavulanate in pediatric patients taking AUGMENTIN ES-600 (see CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY) and adults taking AUGMENTIN XR.
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