Acetazolamide Sodium Drug Information

For adjunctive treatment of: edema due to congestive heart failure; drug-induced edema; centrencephalic epilepsies (petit mal, unlocalized seizures); chronic simple (open-angle) glaucoma, secondary glaucoma, and preoperatively in acute angle-closure glaucoma where delay of surgery is desired in order to lower intraocular pressure.

Preparation and Storage of Parenteral Solution Each 500 mg vial containing Acetazolamide for Injection should be reconstituted with at least 5 mL of Sterile Water for Injection prior to use. Reconstituted solutions retain their physical and chemical properties for 3 days under refrigeration at 2° to 8°C (36° to 46°F), or 12 hours at room temperature 20°C to 25°C (68° to 77°F). CONTAINS NO PRESERVATIVE. The direct intravenous route of administration is preferred. Intramuscular administration is not recommended.

Glaucoma: Acetazolamide for injection should be used as an adjunct to the usual therapy. The dosage employed in the treatment of chronic simple (open-angle) glaucoma ranges from 250 mg to 1 g of acetazolamide for injection per 24 hours, usually in divided doses for amounts over 250 mg. It has usually been found that a dosage in excess of 1 g per 24 hours does not produce an increased effect.

In all cases, the dosage should be adjusted with careful individual attention both to symptomatology and ocular tension. Continuous supervision by a physician is advisable. In treatment of secondary glaucoma and in the preoperative treatment of some cases of acute congestive (closed-angle) glaucoma, the preferred dosage is 250 mg every four hours, although some cases have responded to 250 mg twice daily on short-term therapy.

In some acute cases, it may be more satisfactory to administer an initial dose of 500 mg followed by 125 mg or 250 mg every four hours depending on the individual case. Intravenous therapy may be used for rapid relief of ocular tension in acute cases. A complementary effect has been noted when acetazolamide for injection has been used in conjunction with miotics or mydriatics as the case demanded.

Epilepsy: It is not clearly known whether the beneficial effects observed in epilepsy are due to direct inhibition of carbonic anhydrase in the central nervous system or whether they are due to the slight degree of acidosis produced by the divided dosage. The best results to date have been seen in petit mal in pediatric patients. Good results, however, have been seen in patients, both pediatric patients and adult, in other types of seizures such as grand mal, mixed seizure patterns, myoclonic jerk patterns, etc.

The suggested total daily dose is 8 mg to 30 mg per kg in divided doses. Although some patients respond to a low dose, the optimum range appears to be from 375 mg to 1000 mg daily. However, some investigators feel that daily doses in excess of 1 g do not produce any better results than a 1 g dose.

When acetazolamide for injection is given in combination with other anticonvulsants, it is suggested that the starting dose should be 250 mg once daily in addition to the existing medications. This can be increased to levels as indicated above. The change from other medications to acetazolamide for injection should be gradual and in accordance with usual practice in epilepsy therapy.

Congestive Heart Failure: For diuresis in congestive heart failure, the starting dose is usually 250 mg to 375 mg once daily in the morning (5 mg/kg). If, after an initial response, the patient fails to continue to lose edema fluid, do not increase the dose but allow for kidney recovery by skipping medication for a day. Acetazolamide for injection yields best diuretic results when given on alternate days, or for two days alternating with a day of rest. Failures in therapy may be due to overdosage or too frequent dosage.

The use of acetazolamide for injection does not eliminate the need for other therapy such as digitalis, bed rest, and salt restriction. Drug-Induced Edema: Recommended dosage is 250 mg to 375 mg of acetazolamide for injection once a day for one or two days, alternating with a day of rest. Note: The dosage recommendations for glaucoma and epilepsy differ considerably from those for congestive heart failure, since the first two conditions are not dependent upon carbonic anhydrase inhibition in the kidney which requires intermittent dosage if it is to recover from the inhibitory effect of the therapeutic agent.

Interference with Laboratory Tests Sulfonamides may give false negative or decreased values for urinary phenolsulfonphthalein and phenol red elimination values for urinary protein, serum non-protein and for serum uric acid. Acetazolamide may produce an increased level of crystals in the urine. Acetazolamide interferes with the HPLC method of assay for theophylline.

Interference with the theophylline assay by acetazolamide depends on the solvent used in the extraction; acetazolamide may not interfere with other assay methods for theophylline.

• Body as a whole: Headache, malaise, fatigue, fever, pain at injection site, flushing, growth retardation in children, flaccid paralysis, anaphylaxis Digestive: Gastrointestinal disturbances such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea Hematological/Lymphatic: Blood dyscrasias such as aplastic anemia, agranulocytosis, leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, thrombocytopenic purpura, melena Hepato-biliary disorders: Abnormal liver function, cholestatic jaundice, hepatic insufficiency, fulminant hepatic necrosis Metabolic/Nutritional: Metabolic acidosis, electrolyte imbalance, including hypokalemia, hyponatremia, osteomalacia with long-term phenytoin therapy, loss of appetite, taste alteration, hyper/hypoglycemia Nervous: Drowsiness, paraesthesia (including numbness and tingling of extremities and face), depression, excitement, ataxia, confusion, convulsions, dizziness Skin: Allergic skin reactions including urticaria, photosensitivity, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, toxic epidermal necrolysis Otologic : Hearing disturbances, tinnitus Eye Disorders: choroidal effusion, choroidal detachment, transient myopia. Transient myopia is the result of forward movement of the ciliary body leading to a narrowing of the angle.
• Urogenital: Crystalluria, increased risk of nephrolithiasis with long-term therapy, hematuria, glycosuria, renal failure, polyuria To report SUSPECTED ADVERSE REACTIONS, contact Mylan at 1-877-446-3679 (1-877-4-INFO-RX) or FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or www.fda.gov/medwatch.

Drug Interactions Aspirin – See WARNINGS. Acetazolamide modifies phenytoin metabolism with increased serum levels of phenytoin. This may increase or enhance the occurrence of osteomalacia in some patients receiving chronic phenytoin therapy. Caution is advised in patients receiving chronic concomitant therapy.

By decreasing the gastrointestinal absorption of primidone, acetazolamide may decrease serum concentrations of primidone and its metabolites, with a consequent possible decrease in anticonvulsant effect. Caution is advised when beginning, discontinuing, or changing the dose of acetazolamide in patients receiving primidone. Because of possible additive effects with other carbonic anhydrase inhibitors, concomitant use is not advisable.

Acetazolamide may increase the effects of other folic acid antagonists. Acetazolamide may increase or decrease blood glucose levels. Consideration should be taken in patients being treated with antidiabetic agents.

Acetazolamide decreases urinary excretion of amphetamine and may enhance the magnitude and duration of their effect. Acetazolamide reduces urinary excretion of quinidine and may enhance its effect. Acetazolamide may prevent the urinary antiseptic effect of methenamine.

Acetazolamide increases lithium excretion and the lithium may be decreased. Acetazolamide and sodium bicarbonate used concurrently increases the risk of renal calculus formation. Acetazolamide may elevate cyclosporine levels.

Pediatric Use The safety and effectiveness of acetazolamide in pediatric patients have not been established. Growth retardation has been reported in children receiving long-term therapy, believed secondary to chronic acidosis.

Hypersensitivity to acetazolamide or any excipients in the formulation. Since acetazolamide is a sulfonamide derivative, cross sensitivity between acetazolamide, sulfonamides and other sulfonamide derivatives is possible. Acetazolamide therapy is contraindicated in situations in which sodium and/or potassium blood serum levels are depressed, in cases of marked kidney and liver disease or dysfunction, in suprarenal gland failure, and in hyperchloremic acidosis.

It is contraindicated in patients with cirrhosis because of the risk of development of hepatic encephalopathy. Long-term administration of acetazolamide is contraindicated in patients with chronic noncongestive angle-closure glaucoma since it may permit organic closure of the angle to occur while the worsening glaucoma is masked by lowered intraocular pressure.

No specific antidote is known. Treatment should be symptomatic and supportive. Electrolyte imbalance, development of an acidotic state, and central nervous effects might be expected to occur.

Serum electrolyte levels (particularly potassium) and blood pH levels should be monitored. Supportive measures are required to restore electrolyte and pH balance. The acidotic state can usually be corrected by the administration of bicarbonate.

Despite its high intraerythrocytic distribution and plasma protein binding properties, acetazolamide is dialyzable. This may be particularly important in the management of acetazolamide overdosage when complicated by the presence of renal failure.