WARNINGS
For intranasal use only.
Patients who do not have need of antidiuretic hormone for its antidiuretic effect, in particular those who are young or elderly, should be cautioned to ingest only enough fluid to satisfy thirst, in order to decrease the potential occurrence of water intoxication and hyponatremia.
Fluid intake should be adjusted downward, particularly in very young and elderly patients, in order to decrease the potential occurrence of water intoxication and hyponatremia.1
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.
Stimate® Nasal Spray should not be used to treat patients with Type IIB von Willebrand's disease since platelet aggregation may be induced.
PRECAUTIONS
General
Desmopressin acetate 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.
Stimate® Nasal Spray 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 (thrombosis7, acute cerebrovascular thrombosis, acute myocardial infarction) following desmopressin acetate injection 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.2,8-10 Fatal anaphylaxis has been reported in one patient who received intravenous DDAVP® (desmopressin acetate). It is not known whether antibodies to desmopressin acetate are produced after repeated administration.
Since Stimate® Nasal Spray is used intranasally, changes in the nasal mucosa such as scarring, edema, or other disease may cause erratic, unreliable absorption in which case Stimate® Nasal Spray should be discontinued until the nasal problems resolve. For such situations, DDAVP® Injection should be considered.
Information for Patients:
Patients should be informed that the bottle accurately delivers 25 doses of 150 µg each. Any solution remaining after 25 doses should be discarded since the amount delivered thereafter may be substantially less than 150 µg of drug. No attempt should be made to transfer remaining solution to another bottle. Patients should be instructed to read accompanying directions on use of the spray pump carefully before use.
Patients should also be advised that if bleeding is not controlled, the physician should be contacted.2,3
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 Stimate® Nasal Spray for hemostasis. If Factor VIII coagulant activity is present at less than 5% of normal, Stimate® Nasal Spray 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.
Drug Interactions
Although the pressor activity of desmopressin acetate is very low, its use with other pressor agents should be done only with careful patient monitoring.
DDAVP® Injection has been used with epsilon aminocaproic acid without adverse effects.
Carcinogenicity, Mutagenicity, Impairment of Fertility:
There have been no long-term studies in animals to assess the carcinogenic, mutagenic or impairment of fertility potential of Stimate® Nasal Spray.
Pregnancy Category B:
Reproduction studies performed in rats and rabbits by the subcutaneous route at doses up to 10 µg/kg/day have revealed no evidence of harm to the fetus due to desmopressin acetate. This dose is equivalent to 10 times (for Factor VIII stimulation) or 38 times (for diabetes insipidus) the systemic human dose based on a mg/M2 surface area.
There are no adequate and well-controlled studies in pregnant women. 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 15-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. 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 Stimate® Nasal Spray is administered to a nursing woman.
Pediatric Use:
Use in infants and children will require careful fluid intake restriction to prevent possible hyponatremia and water intoxication. Stimate® Nasal Spray should not be used in infants younger than 11 months in the treatment of hemophilia A or von Willebrand's disease; safety and effectiveness in children between 11 months and 12 years of age has been demonstrated.2-4
Geriatric Use:
Clinical studies of Stimate® did not include sufficient numbers of subjects aged 65 and over to determine whether they respond differently than younger subjects. However, other post-marketing experience has reported the occurrence of hyponatremia with the use of desmopressin acetate and fluid overload.
Therefore, in elderly patients fluid intake should be adjusted downward in an effort to decrease the potential occurrence of water intoxication and hyponatremia. 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.
Patients who do not have need of antidiuretic hormone for its antidiuretic effect should be cautioned to ingest only enough fluid to satisfy thirst, in an effort to decrease the potential occurrence of water intoxication and hyponatremia.
As for all patients, dosing for geriatric patients should be appropriate to their overall situation.
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