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Ddavp Injection (Desmopressin Acetate) - Warnings and Precautions

 
 



WARNINGS

When DDAVP Injection is administered to patients who do not have need of antidiuretic hormone for its antidiuretic effect, in particular in pediatric and geriatric patients, fluid intake should be adjusted downward to decrease the potential occurrence of water intoxication and hyponatremia with accompanying signs and symptoms (headache, nausea/vomiting, decreased serum sodium and weight gain).

Particular attention should be paid to the possibility of the rare occurrence of an extreme decrease in plasma osmolality that may result in seizures which could lead to coma.

DDAVP should not be used to treat patients with Type IIB von Willebrand's disease since platelet aggregation may be induced.

PRECAUTIONS

General: For injection use only.

DDAVP® Injection (desmopressin acetate) 4 µg/mL has infrequently produced changes in blood pressure causing either a slight elevation in blood pressure or a transient fall in blood pressure and a compensatory increase in heart rate. The drug should be used with caution in patients with coronary artery insufficiency and/or hypertensive cardiovascular disease.

DDAVP (desmopressin acetate) should be used with caution in patients with conditions associated with fluid and electrolyte imbalance, such as cystic fibrosis, because these patients are prone to hyponatremia.

There have been rare reports of thrombotic events following DDAVP Injection 4 µg/mL in patients predisposed to thrombus formation. No causality has been determined, however, the drug should be used with caution in these patients.

Severe allergic reactions have been reported rarely. Anaphylaxis has been reported rarely with intravenous and intranasal DDAVP, including isolated cases of fatal anaphylaxis with intravenous DDAVP. It is not known whether antibodies to DDAVP Injection 4 µg/mL are produced after repeated injections.

Hemophilia A: Laboratory tests for assessing patient status include levels of factor VIII coagulant, factor VIII antigen and factor VIII ristocetin cofactor (von Willebrand factor) as well as activated partial thromboplastin time. Factor VIII coagulant activity should be determined before giving DDAVP for hemostasis. If factor VIII coagulant activity is present at less than 5% of normal, DDAVP should not be relied on.

von Willebrand's Disease: Laboratory tests for assessing patient status include levels of factor VIII coagulant activity, factor VIII ristocetin cofactor activity, and factor VIII von Willebrand factor antigen. The skin bleeding time may be helpful in following these patients.

Diabetes Insipidus: Laboratory tests for monitoring the patient include urine volume and osmolality. In some cases, plasma osmolality may be required.

Drug Interactions: Although the pressor activity of DDAVP is very low compared with the antidiuretic activity, use of doses as large as 0.3 µg/kg of DDAVP with other pressor agents should be done only with careful patient monitoring.

DDAVP has been used with epsilon aminocaproic acid without adverse effects.

Carcinogenicity, Mutagenicity, Impairment of Fertility: Studies with DDAVP have not been performed to evaluate carcinogenic potential, mutagenic potential or effects on fertility.

Pregnancy Category B: Fertility studies have not been done. Teratology studies in rats and rabbits at doses from 0.05 to 10 µg/kg/day (approximately 0.1 times the maximum systemic human exposure in rats and up to 38 times the maximum systemic human exposure in rabbits based on surface area, mg/m2) revealed no harm to the fetus due to DDAVP. 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.

Several publications of desmopressin acetate's use in the management of diabetes insipidus during pregnancy are available; these include a few anecdotal reports of congenital anomalies and low birth weight babies. However, no causal connection between these events and desmopressin acetate has been established. A fifteen year, Swedish epidemiologic study of the use of desmopressin acetate in pregnant women with diabetes insipidus found the rate of birth defects to be no greater than that in the general population; however, the statistical power of this study is low. As opposed to preparations containing natural hormones, desmopressin acetate in antidiuretic doses has no uterotonic action and the physician will have to weigh the therapeutic advantages against the possible risks in each case.

Nursing Mothers: There have been no controlled studies in nursing mothers. A single study in postpartum women demonstrated a marked change in plasma, but little if any change in assayable DDAVP in breast milk following an intranasal dose of 10 µg. It is not known whether this drug is excreted in human milk. Because many drugs are excreted in human milk, caution should be exercised when DDAVP is administered to a nursing woman.

Pediatric Use: Use in infants and pediatric patients will require careful fluid intake restriction to prevent possible hyponatremia and water intoxication. DDAVP Injection 4 µg/mL should not be used in infants less than three months of age in the treatment of hemophilia A or von Willebrand's disease; safety and effectiveness in pediatric patients under 12 years of age with diabetes insipidus have not been established.

Page last updated: 2006-06-22

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