Feldene may interact with alcohol, antidepressants, blood thinners, lithium, methotrexate, diuretics (water pills), steroids, aspirin or other NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), or ACE inhibitors. Tell your doctor all medications and supplements you use.
Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant during treatment with Feldene; it may harm a fetus. Taking Feldene during the last 3 months of pregnancy may harm the fetus. Do not take Feldene during pregnancy unless your doctor has told you to. Feldene can pass into breast milk and may harm a nursing baby. Consult your doctor before breastfeeding.
Piroxicam occurs as a white crystalline solid, sparingly soluble in water, dilute acid, and most organic solvents. It is slightly soluble in alcohol and in aqueous solutions. It exhibits a weakly acidic 4-hydroxy proton (pKa 5.1) and a weakly basic pyridyl nitrogen (pKa 1.8).
Carefully consider the potential benefits and risks of FELDENE and other treatment options before deciding to use FELDENE. Use the lowest effective dosage for the shortest duration consistent with individual patient treatment goals [see WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS].
For the relief of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, the dosage is 20 mg given orally once per day. If desired, the daily dose may be divided. Because of the long half-life of FELDENE, steady-state blood levels are not reached for 7 to 12 days. Therefore, although the therapeutic effects of FELDENE are evident early in treatment, there is a progressive increase in response over several weeks and the effect of therapy should not be assessed for two weeks.
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.
The following adverse reactions have been identified during post approval use of FELDENE. Because these reactions are reported voluntarily from a population of uncertain size, it is not always possible to reliably estimate their frequency or establish a causal relationship to drug exposure.
Clinical trials of several cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) selective and nonselective NSAIDs of up to three years duration have shown an increased risk of serious cardiovascular (CV) thrombotic events, including myocardial infarction (MI), and stroke, which can be fatal. Based on available data, it is unclear that the risk for CV thrombotic events is similar for all NSAIDs. The relative increase in serious CV thrombotic events over baseline conferred by NSAID use appears to be similar in those with and without known CV disease or risk factors for CV disease. However, patients with known CV disease or risk factors had a higher absolute incidence of excess serious CV thrombotic events, due to their increased baseline rate. Some observational studies found that this increased risk of serious CV thrombotic events began as early as the first weeks of treatment. The increase in CV thrombotic risk has been observed most consistently at higher doses.
To minimize the potential risk for an adverse CV event in NSAID-treated patients, use the lowest effective dose for the shortest duration possible. Physicians and patients should remain alert for the development of such events, throughout the entire treatment course, even in the absence of previous CV symptoms. Patients should be informed about the symptoms of serious CV events and the steps to take if they occur.
There is no consistent evidence that concurrent use of aspirin mitigates the increased risk of serious CV thrombotic events associated with NSAID use. The concurrent use of aspirin and an NSAID, such as piroxicam, increases the risk of serious gastrointestinal (GI) events [see WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS].
Two large, controlled clinical trials of a COX-2 selective NSAID for the treatment of pain in the first 10 to 14 days following CABG surgery found an increased incidence of myocardial infarction and stroke. NSAIDs are contraindicated in the setting of CABG [see CONTRAINDICATIONS].
Observational studies conducted in the Danish National Registry have demonstrated that patients treated with NSAIDs in the post-MI period were at increased risk of reinfarction, CV-related death, and all-cause mortality beginning in the first week of treatment. In this same cohort, the incidence of death in the first year post-MI was 20 per 100 person years in NSAID-treated patients compared to 12 per 100 person years in non-NSAID exposed patients. Although the absolute rate of death declined somewhat after the first year post-MI, the increased relative risk of death in NSAID users persisted over at least the next four years of follow-up.
Avoid the use of FELDENE in patients with a recent MI unless the benefits are expected to outweigh the risk of recurrent CV thrombotic events. If FELDENE is used in patients with a recent MI, monitor patients for signs of cardiac ischemia.
NSAIDs, including FELDENE, cause serious gastrointestinal (GI) adverse events including inflammation, bleeding, ulceration, and perforation of the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, or large intestine, which can be fatal. These serious adverse events can occur at any time, with or without warning symptoms, in patients treated with NSAIDs. Only one in five patients who develop a serious upper GI adverse event on NSAID therapy is symptomatic. Upper GI ulcers, gross bleeding, or perforation caused by NSAIDs occurred in approximately 1% of patients treated for 3 to 6 months, and in about 2% to 4% of patients treated for one year. However, even short-term NSAID therapy is not without risk.
Patients with a prior history of peptic ulcer disease and/or GI bleeding who used NSAIDs had a greater than 10-fold increased risk for developing a GI bleed compared to patients without these risk factors. Other factors that increase the risk of GI bleeding in patients treated with NSAIDs include longer duration of NSAID therapy; concomitant use of oral corticosteroids, antiplatelet drugs (such as aspirin), anticoagulants, or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs); smoking; use of alcohol; older age; and poor general health status. Most postmarketing reports of fatal GI events occurred in elderly or debilitated patients. Additionally, patients with advanced liver disease and/or coagulopathy are at increased risk for GI bleeding.
Elevations of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) or aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (three or more times the upper limit of normal [ULN]) have been reported in approximately 1% of NSAID-treated patients in clinical trials. In addition, rare, sometimes fatal, cases of severe hepatic injury, including fulminant hepatitis, liver necrosis, and hepatic failure have been reported.
NSAIDs, including FELDENE, can lead to new onset of hypertension or worsening of preexisting hypertension, either of which may contribute to the increased incidence of CV events. Patients taking angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, thiazide diuretics, or loop diuretics may have impaired response to these therapies when taking NSAIDs [see DRUG INTERACTIONS (Error! Reference source not found.7)].
Additionally, fluid retention and edema have been observed in some patients treated with NSAIDs. Use of piroxicam may blunt the CV effects of several therapeutic agents used to treat these medical conditions (e.g., diuretics, ACE inhibitors, or angiotensin receptor blockers [ARBs]) [see DRUG INTERACTIONS].
Avoid the use of FELDENE in patients with severe heart failure unless the benefits are expected to outweigh the risk of worsening heart failure. If FELDENE is used in patients with severe heart failure, monitor patients for signs of worsening heart failure.
Renal toxicity has also been seen in patients in whom renal prostaglandins have a compensatory role in the maintenance of renal perfusion. In these patients, administration of an NSAID may cause a dose-dependent reduction in prostaglandin formation and, secondarily, in renal blood flow, which may precipitate overt renal decompensation. Patients at greatest risk of this reaction are those with impaired renal function, dehydration, hypovolemia, heart failure, liver dysfunction, those taking diuretics and ACE inhibitors or ARBs, and the elderly. Discontinuation of NSAID therapy is usually followed by recovery to the pretreatment state.
No information is available from controlled clinical studies regarding the use of FELDENE in patients with advanced renal disease. The renal effects of FELDENE may hasten the progression of renal dysfunction in patients with preexisting renal disease.
Correct volume status in dehydrated or hypovolemic patients prior to initiating FELDENE. Monitor renal function in patients with renal or hepatic impairment, heart failure, dehydration, or hypovolemia during use of FELDENE [see DRUG INTERACTIONS]. Avoid the use of FELDENE in patients with advanced renal disease unless the benefits are expected to outweigh the risk of worsening renal function. If FELDENE is used in patients with advanced renal disease, monitor patients for signs of worsening renal function.
Increases in serum potassium concentration, including hyperkalemia, have been reported with use of NSAIDs, even in some patients without renal impairment. In patients with normal renal function, these effects have been attributed to a hyporeninemic-hypoaldosteronism state.
Piroxicam has been associated with anaphylactic reactions in patients with and without known hypersensitivity to piroxicam and in patients with aspirin-sensitive asthma [see CONTRAINDICATIONS and WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS].
A subpopulation of patients with asthma may have aspirin-sensitive asthma which may include chronic rhinosinusitis complicated by nasal polyps; severe, potentially fatal bronchospasm; and/or intolerance to aspirin and other NSAIDs. Because cross-reactivity between aspirin and other NSAIDs has been reported in such aspirin-sensitive patients, FELDENE is contraindicated in patients with this form of aspirin sensitivity [see CONTRAINDICATIONS]. When FELDENE is used in patients with preexisting asthma (without known aspirin sensitivity), monitor patients for changes in the signs and symptoms of asthma.
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