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Cleocin Vaginal (Clindamycin Hydrochloride Vaginal) - Warnings and Precautions

 
 



WARNINGS

Pseudomembranous colitis has been reported with nearly all antibacterial agents, including clindamycin, and may range in severity from mild to life-threatening. Orally and parenterally administered clindamycin has been associated with severe colitis, which may end fatally. Diarrhea, bloody diarrhea, and colitis (including pseudomembranous colitis) have been reported with the use of orally and parenterally administered clindamycin, as well as with topical (dermal) formulations of clindamycin. Therefore, it is important to consider this diagnosis in patients who present with diarrhea subsequent to the administration of CLEOCIN Vaginal Ovules, because approximately 30% of the clindamycin dose is systemically absorbed from the vagina.

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 a primary cause of "antibiotic-associated" colitis.

After the diagnosis of pseudomembranous colitis has been established, therapeutic measures should be initiated. Mild cases of pseudomembranous colitis usually respond to discontinuation of the drug 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 Clostridium difficile colitis.

Onset of pseudomembranous colitis symptoms may occur during or after antimicrobial treatment.

PRECAUTIONS

General

The use of CLEOCIN Vaginal Ovules may result in the overgrowth of nonsusceptible organisms in the vagina. In clinical studies using CLEOCIN Vaginal Ovules, treatment-related moniliasis was reported in 2.7% and vaginitis in 3.6% of 589 nonpregnant women. Moniliasis, as reported here, includes the terms: vaginal or nonvaginal moniliasis and fungal infection. Vaginitis includes the terms: vulvovaginal disorder, vaginal discharge, and vaginitis/vaginal infection.

Information for the Patient

The patient should be instructed not to engage in vaginal intercourse or use other vaginal products (such as tampons or douches) during treatment with this product.

The patient should also be advised that these suppositories use an oleaginous base that may weaken latex or rubber products such as condoms or vaginal contraceptive diaphragms. Therefore, the use of such products within 72 hours following treatment with CLEOCIN Vaginal Ovules is not recommended.

Drug Interactions

Clindamycin has been shown to have neuromuscular blocking properties that may enhance the action of other neuromuscular blocking agents. Therefore, it should be used with caution in patients receiving such agents.

Carcinogenesis, Mutagenesis, Impairment of Fertility

Long-term studies in animals have not been performed with clindamycin to evaluate carcinogenic potential. Genotoxicity tests performed included a rat micronucleus test and an Ames test. Both tests were negative. Fertility studies in rats treated orally with up to 300 mg/kg/day (31 times the human exposure based on mg/m2) revealed no effects on fertility or mating ability.

Pregnancy

Teratogenic effects

Pregnancy Category B

There are no adequate and well-controlled studies of CLEOCIN Vaginal Ovules in pregnant women.

CLEOCIN Vaginal Cream, 2%, has been studied in pregnant women during the second trimester. In women treated for 7 days, abnormal labor was reported more frequently in patients who received CLEOCIN Vaginal Cream compared to those receiving placebo (1.1% vs. 0.5% of patients, respectively).

Reproduction studies have been performed in rats and mice using oral and parenteral doses of clindamycin up to 600 mg/kg/day (62 and 25 times, respectively, the maximum human dose based on mg/m2) and have revealed no evidence of harm to the fetus due to clindamycin. Cleft palates were observed in fetuses from one mouse strain treated intraperitoneally with clindamycin at 200 mg/kg/day (about 10 times the recommended dose based on body surface area conversions). Since this effect was not observed in other mouse strains or in other species, the effect may be strain specific.

CLEOCIN Vaginal Ovules should be used during pregnancy only if the potential benefit justifies the potential risk to the fetus.

Nursing Mothers

Clindamycin has been detected in human milk after oral or parenteral administration. It is not known if clindamycin is excreted in human milk following the use of vaginally administered clindamycin phosphate.

Because of the potential for serious adverse reactions in nursing infants from clindamycin phosphate, a decision should be made whether to discontinue nursing or to discontinue the drug, taking into account the importance of the drug to the mother.

Pediatric Use

The safety and efficacy of CLEOCIN Vaginal Ovules in the treatment of bacterial vaginosis in post-menarchal females have been established on the extrapolation of clinical trial data from adult women. When a post-menarchal adolescent presents to a health professional with bacterial vaginosis symptoms, a careful evaluation for sexually transmitted diseases and other risk factors for bacterial vaginosis should be considered. The safety and efficacy of CLEOCIN Vaginal Ovules in pre-menarchal females have not been established.

Geriatric Use

Clinical studies of CLEOCIN Vaginal Ovules did not include sufficient numbers of subjects aged 65 and over to determine whether they respond differently from younger subjects.

Page last updated: 2005-12-14

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