Cilostazol Drug Information
Generic name: CILOSTAZOL
Phosphodiesterase 3 Inhibitor [EPC]
Uses of Cilostazol
Cilostazol tablets are indicated for the reduction of symptoms of intermittent claudication, as demonstrated by an increased walking distance. Cilostazol is a phosphodiesterase III inhibitor (PDE III inhibitor) indicated for the reduction of symptoms of intermittent claudication, as demonstrated by an increased walking distance
Dosage & Administration of Cilostazol
Recommended dosage
The recommended dosage of cilostazol is 100 mg twice daily taken at least half an hour before or two hours after breakfast and dinner. Patients may respond as early as 2 to 4 weeks after the initiation of therapy, but treatment for up to 12 weeks may be needed before a beneficial effect is experienced. If symptoms are unimproved after 3 months, discontinue cilostazol.
Dose Reduction with
CYP3A4 and CYP2C19 Inhibitors Reduce dose to 50 mg twice daily when coadministered with strong or moderate inhibitors of CYP3A4 (e.g., ketoconazole, itraconazole, erythromycin, and diltiazem) or inhibitors of CYP2C19 (e.g., ticlopidine, fluconazole, and omeprazole) .
Side Effects of Cilostazol
Clinical Trials Experience
Because clinical trials are conducted under widely varying conditions, adverse reaction rates observed in the clinical trials of a drug cannot be directly compared to rates in the clinical trials of another drug and may not reflect the rates observed in practice. Adverse reactions were assessed in eight placebo-controlled clinical trials involving patients exposed to either 50 or 100 mg twice daily cilostazol tablets (n=1301) or placebo (n=973), with a median treatment duration of 127 days for patients on cilostazol tablets and 134 days for patients on placebo. The most frequent adverse reaction resulting in discontinuation of therapy in more than 3% of patients treated with cilostazol tablets was headache.
Other frequent causes of discontinuation included palpitation and diarrhea, both 1.1% for cilostazol tablets (all doses) versus 0.1% for placebo. The most common adverse reactions, occurring in at least 2% of patients treated with cilostazol tablets 50 or 100 mg twice daily, are shown in Table 1. Table 1: Most Common Adverse Reactions in Patients on cilostazol tablets 50 or 100 mg Twice Daily (Incidence at least 2% and Occurring More Frequently (≥ 2%) in the 100 mg Twice Daily Group than on Placebo) Adverse Reactions Placebo (N=973) Cilostazol tablets 50 mg twice daily (N=303) Cilostazol tablets 100 mg twice daily (N=998) Headache 14% 27% 34% Diarrhea 7% 12% 19% Abnormal stools 4% 12% 15% Palpitation 1% 5% 10% Dizziness 6% 9% 10% Pharyngitis 7% 7% 10% Infection 8% 14% 10% Peripheral edema 4% 9% 7% Rhinitis 5% 12% 7% Dyspepsia 4% 6% 6% Abdominal pain 3% 4% 5% Tachycardia 1% 4% 4% Less frequent clinical significant adverse reactions (less than 2%) that were experienced by patients treated with cilostazol 50 mg twice daily or 100 mg twice daily in the eight controlled clinical trials and that occurred at a frequency in the 100 mg twice daily group greater than in the placebo group are listed below. Body as a whole: fever, generalized edema, malaise Cardiovascular: atrial fibrillation, heart failure, myocardial infarction, nodal arrhythmia, supraventricular tachycardia, ventricular extrasystoles, ventricular tachycardia Digestive: anorexia, melena Hematologic and Lymphatic: anemia Metabolic and Nutritional: increased creatinine, hyperuricemia Nervous: insomnia Respiratory: epistaxis Skin and Appendages: urticaria Special Senses: conjunctivitis, retinal hemorrhage, tinnitus Urogenital: urinary frequency
Postmarketing Experience
The following adverse reactions have been identified during post-approval use of cilostazol tablets. Because these reactions are reported voluntarily from a population of an unknown size, it is not always possible to reliably estimate their frequency or establish a causal relationship to drug exposure. Blood and lymphatic system disorders: Aplastic anemia, granulocytopenia, pancytopenia, bleeding tendency Cardiac disorders: Torsade de pointes and QTc prolongation in patients with cardiac disorders (e.g. complete atrioventricular block, heart failure; and bradyarrythmia), angina pectoris.
Gastrointestinal disorders: Gastrointestinal hemorrhage, vomiting, flatulence, nausea General disorders and administration site conditions: Pain, chest pain, hot flushes Hepatobiliary disorders: Hepatic dysfunction/abnormal liver function tests, jaundice Immune system disorders: Anaphylaxis, angioedema, and hypersensitivity Investigations: Blood glucose increased, blood uric acid increased, increase in BUN (blood urea increased), blood pressure increase Nervous system disorders: Intracranial hemorrhage, cerebral hemorrhage, cerebrovascular accident, extradural hematoma and subdural hematoma Renal and urinary disorders: Hematuria Respiratory, thoracic and mediastinal disorders: Pulmonary hemorrhage, interstitial pneumonia Skin and subcutaneous tissue disorders: Hemorrhage subcutaneous, pruritus, skin eruptions including Stevens-Johnson syndrome, skin drug eruption (dermatitis medicamentosa), rash Vascular disorders: Subacute stent thrombosis, hypertension.
Warnings & Cautions for Cilostazol
Tachycardia Cilostazol may induce tachycardia, palpitation, tachyarrhythmia or hypotension.
The increase in heart rate associated with cilostazol is approximately 5 to 7 bpm. Patients with a history of ischemic heart disease may be at risk for exacerbations of angina pectoris or myocardial infarction.
Left Ventricular Outflow Tract Obstruction Left ventricular outflow tract obstruction has been
reported in patients with sigmoid shaped interventricular septum. Monitor patients for the development of a new systolic murmur or cardiac symptoms after starting cilostazol.
Hematologic Adverse Reactions Cases of thrombocytopenia or leukopenia progressing to agranulocytosis when
cilostazol was not immediately discontinued have been reported. Agranulocytosis is reversible on discontinuation of cilostazol. Monitor platelets and white blood cell counts periodically.
Hemostatic Disorders or Active Pathologic Bleeding Cilostazol inhibits platelet aggregation in a
reversible manner. Cilostazol has not been studied in patients with hemostatic disorders or active pathologic bleeding. Avoid use of cilostazol tablets in these patients.
Drug Interactions with Cilostazol
Inhibitors of
CYP3A4 or CYP2C19 Inhibitors of CYP3A4 Coadministration of strong (e.g., ketoconazole) and moderate (e.g., erythromycin, diltiazem and grapefruit juice) CYP3A4 inhibitors can increase exposure to cilostazol. Reduce cilostazol dose to 50 mg twice daily when coadministered with strong or moderate inhibitors of CYP3A4. Inhibitors of CYP2C19 Coadministration with CYP2C19 inhibitors (e.g., omeprazole) increases systemic exposure of cilostazol active metabolites. Reduce cilostazol dose to 50 mg twice daily when coadministered with strong or moderate inhibitors of CYP2C19.
Contraindications for Cilostazol
- Cilostazol is contraindicated in patients with: Heart failure of any severity: Cilostazol and several of its metabolites are inhibitors of phosphodiesterase III. Several drugs with this pharmacologic effect have caused decreased survival compared to placebo in patients with class III-IV heart failure. Hypersensitivity to cilostazol or any components of cilostazol tablets (e.g., anaphylaxis, angioedema) Heart failure of any severity Hypersensitivity to cilostazol or any components of cilostazol tablets
Overdosage Information for Cilostazol
Information on acute overdosage with cilostazol in humans is limited. The signs and symptoms of an acute overdose can be anticipated to be those of excessive pharmacologic effect: severe headache, diarrhea, hypotension, tachycardia, and possibly cardiac arrhythmias. The patient should be carefully observed and given supportive treatment.
Since cilostazol is highly protein-bound, it is unlikely that it can be efficiently removed by hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis. The oral LD 50 of cilostazol is greater than 5 g per kg in mice and rats and greater than 2 g per kg in dogs.
Clinical Studies of Cilostazol
The ability of cilostazol to improve walking distance in patients with stable intermittent claudication was studied in eight, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trials of 12 to 24 weeks’ duration involving 2,274 patients using dosages of 50 mg twice daily (n=303), 100 mg twice daily (n=998), and placebo (n=973). Efficacy was determined primarily by the change in maximal walking distance from baseline (compared to change on placebo) on one of several standardized exercise treadmill tests. Compared to patients treated with placebo, patients treated with cilostazol 50 or 100 mg twice daily experienced statistically significant improvements in walking distances both for the distance before the onset of claudication pain and the distance before exercise-limiting symptoms supervened (maximal walking distance). The effect of cilostazol on walking distance was seen as early as the first on-therapy observation point of two or four weeks. Figure 2 depicts the percent mean improvement in maximal walking distance, at study end for each of the eight studies.
Figure 2: Percent Mean Improvement in Maximal Walking Distance at Study End for the Eight Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trials Across the eight clinical trials, the range of improvement in maximal walking distance in patients treated with cilostazol 100 mg twice daily, expressed as the change from baseline, was 28% to 100%. The corresponding changes in the placebo group were –10% to 41%. The Walking Impairment Questionnaire, which was administered in six of the eight clinical trials, assesses the impact of a therapeutic intervention on walking ability. In a pooled analysis of the six trials, patients treated with either cilostazol 100 mg twice daily or 50 mg twice daily reported improvements in their walking speed and walking distance as compared to placebo. Improvements in walking performance were seen in the various subpopulations evaluated, including those defined by gender, smoking status, diabetes mellitus, duration of peripheral artery disease, age, and concomitant use of beta blockers or calcium channel blockers.
Cilostazol has not been studied in patients with rapidly progressing claudication or in patients with leg pain at rest, ischemic leg ulcers, or gangrene. Its long-term effects on limb preservation and hospitalization have not been evaluated. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase IV study was conducted to assess the long-term effects of cilostazol, with respect to mortality and safety, in 1,439 patients with intermittent claudication and no heart failure.
The trial stopped early due to enrollment difficulties and a lower than expected overall death rate. With respect to mortality, the observed 36-month Kaplan-Meier event rate for deaths on study drug with a median time on study drug of 18 months was 5.6% (95% CI of 2.8 to 8.4 %) on cilostazol and 6.8% (95% CI of 1.9 to 11.5 %) on placebo. These data appear to be sufficient to exclude a 75% increase in the risk of mortality on cilostazol, which was the a priori study hypothesis.
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Drug information sourced from the FDA. This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Consult a healthcare professional before making any medication decisions.
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