General
Patients should maintain an adequate nutritional status, particularly an adequate
intake of calcium and vitamin D.
Therapy has been withheld from some patients with enterocolitis since diarrhea may be experienced, particularly at higher doses.
Didronel is not metabolized and is excreted intact via the kidney. Hyperphosphatemia
may occur at doses of 10 to 20 mg/kg/day, apparently as a result of drug-related
increases in tubular reabsorption of phosphate. Serum phosphate levels generally
return to normal 2 to 4 weeks posttherapy. There is no experience to specifically
guide treatment in patients with impaired renal function. Didronel dosage should
be reduced when reductions in glomerular filtration rates are present. Patients
with renal impairment should be closely monitored. In approximately 10% of patients
in clinical trials of Didronel® I. V. Infusion (etidronate disodium)
for hypercalcemia of malignancy, occasional, mild-to-moderate abnormalities
in renal function (increases of > 0.5 mg/dl serum creatinine) were observed
during or immediately after treatment.
Didronel suppresses bone turnover, and may retard mineralization of osteoid
laid down during the bone accretion process. These effects are dose and time
dependent. Osteoid, which may accumulate noticeably at doses of 10 to 20 mg/kg/day,
mineralizes normally posttherapy. In patients with fractures, especially of
long bones, it may be advisable to delay or interrupt treatment until callus
is evident.
Osteonecrosis, primarily in the jaw, has been reported in patients treated with bisphosphonates. Most cases have been in cancer patients undergoing dental procedures such as tooth extraction, but some have occurred in patients with postmenopausal osteoporosis or other diagnoses. Most reported cases have been in patients treated with bisphosphonates intravenously but some have been in patients treated orally.
For patients requiring dental procedures, there are no data available to suggest whether discontinuation of bisphosphonate treatment, prior to the procedure, reduces the risk of osteonecrosis of the jaw. Clinical judgment should guide the management plan of each patient based on individual benefit/risk assessment.
Musculoskeletal Pain: In postmarketing experience, there have been infrequent
reports of severe and occasionally incapacitating bone, joint, and/or muscle
pain in patients taking bisphosphonates (see ADVERSE REACTIONS). The
time to onset of symptoms varied from one day to several months after starting
the drug. Most patients had relief of symptoms after stopping medication. A
subset had recurrence of symptoms when rechallenged with the same drug or another
bisphosphonate.
Paget's Disease: In Paget's patients, treatment regimens exceeding
the recommended (see DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION) daily maximum dose of
20 mg/kg or continuous administration of medication for periods greater than
6 months may be associated with osteomalacia and an increased risk of fracture.
Long bones predominantly affected by lytic lesions, particularly in those patients
unresponsive to Didronel therapy, may be especially prone to fracture.
Patients with predominantly lytic lesions should be monitored radiographically and biochemically to permit termination of Didronel in those patients unresponsive to treatment.
Carcinogenesis: Long-term studies in rats have indicated that Didronel
is not carcinogenic.
Pregnancy: Teratogenic Effects: Pregnancy Category C. In teratology
and developmental toxicity studies conducted in rats and rabbits treated with
dosages of up to 100 mg/kg (5 to 20 times the clinical dose), no adverse or
teratogenic effects have been observed in the offspring. Etidronate disodium
has been shown to cause skeletal abnormalities in rats when given at oral dose
levels of 300 mg/kg (15 to 60 times the human dose). Other effects on the offspring
(including decreased live births) are at dosages that cause significant toxicity
in the parent generation and are 25 to 200 times the human dose. The skeletal
effects are thought to be the result of the pharmacological effects of the drug
on bone.
Bisphosphonates are incorporated into the bone matrix, from which they are gradually released over periods of weeks to years. The amount of bisphosphonate incorporation into adult bone, and hence, the amount available for release back into the systemic circulation, is directly related to the dose and duration of bisphosphonate use. There are no data on fetal risk in humans. However, there is a theoretical risk of fetal harm, predominantly skeletal, if a woman becomes pregnant after completing a course of bisphosphonate therapy. The impact of variables such as time between cessation of bisphosphonate therapy to conception, the particular bisphosphonate used, and the route of administration (intravenous versus oral) on this risk has not been studied.
There are no adequate and well-controlled studies in pregnant women. Didronel
(etidronate disodium) should be used during pregnancy only if the potential
benefit justifies the potential risk to the fetus.
Nursing Mothers: 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 Didronel is administered to a nursing woman.
Pediatric Use: Safety and effectiveness in pediatric patients have not
been established. Pediatric patients have been treated with Didronel,
at doses recommended for adults, to prevent heterotopic ossifications or soft
tissue calcifications. A rachitic syndrome has been reported infrequently at
doses of 10 mg/kg/day and more for prolonged periods approaching or exceeding
a year. The epiphyseal radiologic changes associated with retarded mineralization
of new osteoid and cartilage, and occasional symptoms reported, have been reversible
when medication is discontinued.
Geriatric Use: Clinical studies of Didronel did not include sufficient
numbers of subjects aged 65 and over to determine whether they respond differently
from younger subjects. Other reported clinical experience has not identified
differences in responses between elderly and younger patients. In general, dose
selection for an elderly patient should be cautious, reflecting the greater
frequency of decreased hepatic, renal, or cardiac function, and of concomitant
disease or other drug therapy. This drug is known to be substantially excreted
by the kidney, and the risk of toxic reactions to this drug may be greater in
patients with impaired renal function. Because elderly patients are more likely
to have decreased renal function, care should be taken when prescribing this
drug therapy. As stated in PRECAUTIONS, Didronel dosage should be reduced
when reductions in glomerular filtration rates are present. In addition, patients
with renal impairment should be closely monitored.
Last updated on RxList: 10/3/2008