9) ] The most common adverse reactions reported in clinical trials (≥ 2%) are headache, flushing, dyspepsia, abnormal vision, nasal congestion, back pain, myalgia, nausea, dizziness, and rash. 1 ) To report SUSPECTED ADVERSE REACTIONS, contact Nivagen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
gov/medwatch . 1 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 clinical practice.
Sildenafil was administered to over 3700 patients (aged 19-87 years) during pre-marketing clinical trials worldwide. Over 550 patients were treated for longer than one year. 3%). In fixed-dose studies, the incidence of some adverse reactions increased with dose.
The type of adverse reactions in flexible-dose studies, which reflect the recommended dosage regimen, was similar to that for fixed- dose studies. At doses above the recommended dose range, adverse reactions were similar to those detailed in Table 1 below but generally were reported more frequently.
Table 1:
Adverse Reactions Reported by ≥2% of Patients Treated with sildenafil and More Frequent than Placebo in Fixed-Dose Phase II/III Studies Adverse Reaction 25 mg (n=312) 50 mg (n=511) 100 mg (n=506) Placebo (n=607) Headache 16% 21% 28% 7% Flushing 10% 19% 18% 2% Dyspepsia 3% 9% 17% 2% Abnormal vision† 1% 2% 11% 1% Nasal congestion 4% 4% 9% 2% Back pain 3% 4% 4% 2% Myalgia 2% 2% 4% 1% Nausea 2% 3% 3% 1% Dizziness 3% 4% 3% 2% Rash 1% 2% 3% 1% † Abnormal Vision: Mild to moderate in severity and transient, predominantly color tinge to vision, but also increased sensitivity to light, or blurred vision.
When sildenafil was taken as recommended (on an as-needed basis) in flexible-dose, placebo-controlled clinical trials of two to twenty-six weeks duration, patients took sildenafil at least once weekly, and the following adverse reactions were reported: Table 2.
Adverse Reactions Reported by ≥2% of Patients Treated with sildenafil and More Frequent than Placebo in Flexible-Dose Phase II/III Studies Adverse Reaction SILDENAFIL CITRATE PLACEBO N=734 N=725 Headache 16% 4% Flushing 10% 1% Dyspepsia 7% 2% Nasal Congestion 4% 2% Abnormal Vision † 3% 0% Back pain 2% 2% Dizziness 2% 1% Rash 2% 1% † Abnormal Vision: Mild and transient, predominantly color tinge to vision, but also increased sensitivity to light or blurred vision.
In these studies, only one patient discontinued due to abnormal vision. The following events occurred in <2% of patients in controlled clinical trials; a causal relationship to sildenafil is uncertain. Reported events include those with a plausible relation to drug use; omitted are minor events and reports too imprecise to be meaningful: Body as a Whole: face edema, photosensitivity reaction, shock, asthenia, pain, chills, accidental fall, abdominal pain, allergic reaction, chest pain, accidental injury.
Cardiovascular: angina pectoris, AV block, migraine, syncope, tachycardia, palpitation, hypotension, postural hypotension, myocardial ischemia, cerebral thrombosis, cardiac arrest, heart failure, abnormal electrocardiogram, cardiomyopathy.
Digestive: vomiting, glossitis, colitis, dysphagia, gastritis, gastroenteritis, esophagitis, stomatitis, dry mouth, liver function tests abnormal, rectal hemorrhage, gingivitis. Hemic and Lymphatic: anemia and leukopenia. Metabolic and Nutritional: thirst, edema, gout, unstable diabetes, hyperglycemia, peripheral edema, hyperuricemia, hypoglycemic reaction, hypernatremia.
Musculoskeletal: arthritis, arthrosis, myalgia, tendon rupture, tenosynovitis, bone pain, myasthenia, synovitis. Nervous: ataxia, hypertonia, neuralgia, neuropathy, paresthesia, tremor, vertigo, depression, insomnia, somnolence, abnormal dreams, reflexes decreased, hypesthesia.
Respiratory: asthma, dyspnea, laryngitis, pharyngitis, sinusitis, bronchitis, sputum increased, cough increased. Skin and Appendages: urticaria, herpes simplex, pruritus, sweating, skin ulcer, contact dermatitis, exfoliative dermatitis.
Special Senses: sudden decrease or loss of hearing, mydriasis, conjunctivitis, photophobia, tinnitus, eye pain, ear pain, eye hemorrhage, cataract, dry eyes. Urogenital: cystitis, nocturia, urinary frequency, breast enlargement, urinary incontinence, abnormal ejaculation, genital edema and anorgasmia.
Analysis of the safety database from controlled clinical trials showed no apparent difference in adverse reactions in patients taking sildenafil with and without anti-hypertensive medication. This analysis was performed retrospectively, and was not powered to detect any pre-specified difference in adverse reactions.
2 Postmarketing Experience The following adverse reactions have been identified during post approval use of sildenafil . 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.
These events have been chosen for inclusion either due to their seriousness, reporting frequency, lack of clear alternative causation, or a combination of these factors. Cardiovascular and cerebrovascular Serious cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, and vascular events, including myocardial infarction, sudden cardiac death, ventricular arrhythmia, cerebrovascular hemorrhage, transient ischemic attack, hypertension, subarachnoid and intracerebral hemorrhages, and pulmonary hemorrhage have been reported post-marketing in temporal association with the use of sildenafil.
Most, but not all, of these patients had preexisting cardiovascular risk factors. Many of these events were reported to occur during or shortly after sexual activity, and a few were reported to occur shortly after the use of sildenafil without sexual activity.
Others were reported to have occurred hours to days after the use of sildenafil and sexual activity. 1) and Patient Counseling Information (17) ].
Hemic and Lymphatic: vaso-occlusive crisis:
In a small, prematurely terminated study of REVATIO (sildenafil) in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) secondary to sickle cell disease, vaso-occlusive crises requiring hospitalization were more commonly reported in patients who received sildenafil than in those randomized to placebo.
The clinical relevance of this finding to men treated with sildenafil for ED is not known. Nervous: seizure, seizure recurrence, anxiety, and transient global amnesia.
Respiratory: epistaxis Special senses:
Hearing: Cases of sudden decrease or loss of hearing have been reported postmarketing in temporal association with the use of PDE5 inhibitors, including sildenafil. In some of the cases, medical conditions and other factors were reported that may have also played a role in the otologic adverse events.
In many cases, medical follow-up information was limited. 4) and Patient Counseling Information (17) ]. Ocular: diplopia, temporary vision loss/decreased vision, ocular redness or bloodshot appearance, ocular burning, ocular swelling/pressure, increased intraocular pressure, retinal edema, retinal vascular disease or bleeding, and vitreous traction/detachment.
Non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION), a cause of decreased vision including permanent loss of vision, has been reported rarely post-marketing in temporal association with the use of phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) inhibitors, including sildenafil.
3) and Patient Counseling Information (17) ]. 2) and Patient Counseling Information (17) ], and hematuria.