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Included as part of the PRECAUTIONS section.

Serious Skin Rashes

The risk of serious rash caused by treatment with LAMICTAL XR is not expected to differ from that with immediate-release lamotrigine [see BOXED WARNING]. However, the relatively limited treatment experience with LAMICTAL XR makes it difficult to characterize the frequency and risk of serious rashes caused by treatment with LAMICTAL XR.

Pediatric Population

The incidence of serious rash associated with hospitalization and discontinuation of immediate-release lamotrigine in a prospectively followed cohort of pediatric patients (aged 2 to 16 years) with epilepsy receiving adjunctive therapy with immediate-release lamotrigine was approximately 0.8% (16 of 1,983). When 14 of these cases were reviewed by 3 expert dermatologists, there was considerable disagreement as to their proper classification. To illustrate, one dermatologist considered none of the cases to be Stevens-Johnson syndrome; another assigned 7 of the 14 to this diagnosis. There was 1 rash-related death in this 1,983 patient cohort. Additionally, there have been rare cases of toxic epidermal necrolysis with and without permanent sequelae and/or death in US and foreign postmarketing experience.

There is evidence that the inclusion of valproate in a multidrug regimen increases the risk of serious, potentially life-threatening rash in pediatric patients. In pediatric patients who used valproate concomitantly, 1.2% (6 of 482) experienced a serious rash compared with 0.6% (6 of 952) patients not taking valproate.

LAMICTAL XR is not approved in patients less than 13 years of age.

Adult Population

Serious rash associated with hospitalization and discontinuation of immediate-release lamotrigine occurred in 0.3% (11 of 3,348) of adult patients who received immediate-release lamotrigine in premarketing clinical trials of epilepsy. In worldwide postmarketing experience, rare cases of rash-related death have been reported, but their numbers are too few to permit a precise estimate of the rate.

Among the rashes leading to hospitalization were Stevens-Johnson syndrome, toxic epidermal necrolysis, angioedema, and a rash associated with a variable number of the following systemic manifestations: fever, lymphadenopathy, facial swelling, and hematologic and hepatologic abnormalities.

There is evidence that the inclusion of valproate in a multidrug regimen increases the risk of serious, potentially life-threatening rash in adults. Specifically, of 584 patients administered immediate-release lamotrigine with valproate in epilepsy clinical trials, 6 (1%) were hospitalized in association with rash; in contrast, 4 (0.16%) of 2,398 clinical trial patients and volunteers administered immediate-release lamotrigine in the absence of valproate were hospitalized.

Patients With History of Allergy or Rash to Other Antiepileptic Drugs

The risk of nonserious rash may be increased when the recommended initial dose and/or the rate of dose escalation for LAMICTAL XR is exceeded and in patients with a history of allergy or rash to other AEDs.

Hypersensitivity Reactions

Hypersensitivity reactions, some fatal or life threatening, have also occurred. Some of these reactions have included clinical features of multiorgan failure/dysfunction, including hepatic abnormalities and evidence of disseminated intravascular coagulation. It is important to note that early manifestations of hypersensitivity (e.g., fever, lymphadenopathy) may be present even though a rash is not evident. If such signs or symptoms are present, the patient should be evaluated immediately. LAMICTAL XR should be discontinued if an alternative etiology for the signs or symptoms cannot be established.

Prior to initiation of treatment with LAMICTAL XR, the patient should be instructed that a rash or other signs or symptoms of hypersensitivity (e.g., fever, lymphadenopathy) may herald a serious medical event and that the patient should report any such occurrence to a physician immediately.

Acute Multiorgan Failure

Multiorgan failure, which in some cases has been fatal or irreversible, has been observed in patients receiving immediate-release lamotrigine. Fatalities associated with multiorgan failure and various degrees of hepatic failure have been reported in 2 of 3,796 adult patients and 4 of 2,435 pediatric patients who received immediate-release lamotrigine in epilepsy clinical trials. Rare fatalities from multiorgan failure have been reported in compassionate plea and postmarketing use. The majority of these deaths occurred in association with other serious medical events, including status epilepticus and overwhelming sepsis, and hantavirus, making it difficult to identify the initial cause.

Additionally, 3 patients (a 45-year-old woman, a 3.5-year-old boy, and an 11-year-old girl) developed multiorgan dysfunction and disseminated intravascular coagulation 9 to 14 days after immediate-release lamotrigine was added to their AED regimens. Rash and elevated transaminases were also present in all patients and rhabdomyolysis was noted in 2 patients. Both pediatric patients were receiving concomitant therapy with valproate, while the adult patient was being treated with carbamazepine and clonazepam. All patients subsequently recovered with supportive care after treatment with immediate-release lamotrigine was discontinued.

Blood Dyscrasias

There have been reports of blood dyscrasias with immediate-release lamotrigine that may or may not be associated with the hypersensitivity syndrome. These have included neutropenia, leukopenia, anemia, thrombocytopenia, pancytopenia, and, rarely, aplastic anemia and pure red cell aplasia.

Suicidal Behavior and Ideation

AEDs, including LAMICTAL XR, increase the risk of suicidal thoughts or behavior in patients taking these drugs for any indication. Patients treated with any AED for any indication should be monitored for the emergence or worsening of depression, suicidal thoughts or behavior, and/or any unusual changes in mood or behavior.

Pooled analyses of 199 placebo-controlled clinical trials (monotherapy and adjunctive therapy) of 11 different AEDs showed that patients randomized to one of the AEDs had approximately twice the risk (adjusted Relative Risk 1.8, 95% CI:1.2, 2.7) of suicidal thinking or behavior compared to patients randomized to placebo. In these trials, which had a median treatment duration of 12 weeks, the estimated incidence of suicidal behavior or ideation among 27,863 AED-treated patients was 0.43%, compared to 0.24% among 16,029 placebo-treated patients, representing an increase of approximately 1 case of suicidal thinking or behavior for every 530 patients treated. There were 4 suicides in drug-treated patients in the trials and none in placebo-treated patients, but the number of events is too small to allow any conclusion about drug effect on suicide.

The increased risk of suicidal thoughts or behavior with AEDs was observed as early as 1 week after starting treatment with AEDs and persisted for the duration of treatment assessed. Because most trials included in the analysis did not extend beyond 24 weeks, the risk of suicidal thoughts or behavior beyond 24 weeks could not be assessed.

The risk of suicidal thoughts or behavior was generally consistent among drugs in the data analyzed. The finding of increased risk with AEDs of varying mechanism of action and across a range of indications suggests that the risk applies to all AEDs used for any indication. The risk did not vary substantially by age (5 to 100 years) in the clinical trials analyzed.

Table 3 shows absolute and relative risk by indication for all evaluated AEDs.

Table 3: Risk by Indication for Antiepileptic Drugs in the Pooled Analysis

The relative risk for suicidal thoughts or behavior was higher in clinical trials for epilepsy than in clinical trials for psychiatric or other conditions, but the absolute risk differences were similar for the epilepsy and psychiatric indications.

Anyone considering prescribing LAMICTAL XR or any other AED must balance the risk of suicidal thoughts or behavior with the risk of untreated illness. Epilepsy and many other illnesses for which AEDs are prescribed are themselves associated with morbidity and mortality and an increased risk of suicidal thoughts and behavior. Should suicidal thoughts and behavior emerge during treatment, the prescriber needs to consider whether the emergence of these symptoms in any given patient may be related to the illness being treated.

Patients, their caregivers, and families should be informed that AEDs increase the risk of suicidal thoughts and behavior and should be advised of the need to be alert for the emergence or worsening of the signs and symptoms of depression; any unusual changes in mood or behavior; or the emergence of suicidal thoughts, behavior, or thoughts about self-harm. Behaviors of concern should be reported immediately to healthcare providers.

Aseptic Meningitis

Therapy with lamotrigine increases the risk of developing aseptic meningitis. Because of the potential for serious outcomes of untreated meningitis due to other causes, patients should also be evaluated for other causes of meningitis and treated as appropriate.

Postmarketing cases of aseptic meningitis have been reported in pediatric and adult patients taking lamotrigine for various indications. Symptoms upon presentation have included headache, fever, nausea, vomiting, and nuchal rigidity. Rash, photophobia, myalgia, chills, altered consciousness, and somnolence were also noted in some cases. Symptoms have been reported to occur within 1 day to one and a half months following the initiation of treatment. In most cases, symptoms were reported to resolve after discontinuation of lamotrigine. Re-exposure resulted in a rapid return of symptoms (from within 30 minutes to 1 day following re-initiation of treatment) that were frequently more severe. Some of the patients treated with LAMICTAL who developed aseptic meningitis had underlying diagnoses of systemic lupus erythematosus or other autoimmune diseases.

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analyzed at the time of clinical presentation in reported cases was characterized by a mild to moderate pleocytosis, normal glucose levels, and mild to moderate increase in protein. CSF white blood cell count differentials showed a predominance of neutrophils in a majority of the cases, although a predominance of lymphocytes was reported in approximately one third of the cases. Some patients also had new onset of signs and symptoms of involvement of other organs (predominantly hepatic and renal involvement), which may suggest that in these cases the aseptic meningitis observed was part of a hypersensitivity reaction.

Potential Medication Errors

Medication errors involving LAMICTAL have occurred. In particular, the names LAMICTAL or lamotrigine can be confused with the names of other commonly used medications. Medication errors may also occur between the different formulations of LAMICTAL. To reduce the potential of medication errors, write and say LAMICTAL XR clearly. Depictions of the LAMICTAL XR Extended-Release Tablets can be found in the Medication Guide. Each LAMICTAL XR tablet has a distinct color and white center, and is printed with “LAMICTAL XR” and the tablet strength. These distinctive features serve to identify the different presentations of the drug and thus may help reduce the risk of medication errors. LAMICTAL XR is supplied in round, unit-of-use bottles with orange caps containing 30 tablets. The label on the bottle includes a depiction of the tablets that further communicates to patients and pharmacists that the medication is LAMICTAL XR and the specific tablet strength included in the bottle. The unit-of-use bottle with a distinctive orange cap and distinctive bottle label features serves to identify the different presentations of the drug and thus may help to reduce the risk of medication errors. To avoid the medication error of using the wrong drug or formulation, patients should be strongly advised to visually inspect their tablets to verify that they are LAMICTAL XR each time they fill their prescription.

Concomitant Use With Oral Contraceptives

Some estrogen-containing oral contraceptives have been shown to decrease serum concentrations of lamotrigine [see CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY]. Dosage adjustments will be necessary in most patients who start or stop estrogen-containing oral contraceptives while taking LAMICTAL XR [see DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION]. During the week of inactive hormone preparation (pill-free week) of oral contraceptive therapy, plasma lamotrigine levels are expected to rise, as much as doubling at the end of the week. Adverse reactions consistent with elevated levels of lamotrigine, such as dizziness, ataxia, and diplopia, could occur.

Withdrawal Seizures

As with other AEDs, LAMICTAL XR should not be abruptly discontinued. In patients with epilepsy there is a possibility of increasing seizure frequency. Unless safety concerns require a more rapid withdrawal, the dose of LAMICTAL XR should be tapered over a period of at least 2 weeks (approximately 50% reduction per week) [see DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION].

Status Epilepticus

Valid estimates of the incidence of treatment-emergent status epilepticus among patients treated with immediate-release lamotrigine are difficult to obtain because reporters participating in clinical trials did not all employ identical rules for identifying cases. At a minimum, 7 of 2,343 adult patients had episodes that could unequivocally be described as status epilepticus. In addition, a number of reports of variably defined episodes of seizure exacerbation (e.g., seizure clusters, seizure flurries) were made.

Sudden Unexplained Death in Epilepsy

During the premarketing development of immediate-release lamotrigine, 20 sudden and unexplained deaths were recorded among a cohort of 4,700 patients with epilepsy (5,747 patient417 years of exposure).

Some of these could represent seizure-related deaths in which the seizure was not observed, e.g., at night. This represents an incidence of 0.0035 deaths per patient-year. Although this rate exceeds that expected in a healthy population matched for age and sex, it is within the range of estimates for the incidence of sudden unexplained death in patients with epilepsy not receiving lamotrigine (ranging from 0.0005 for the general population of patients with epilepsy, to 0.004 for a recently studied clinical trial population similar to that in the clinical development program for immediate-release lamotrigine, to 0.005 for patients with refractory epilepsy). Consequently, whether these figures are reassuring or suggest concern depends on the comparability of the populations reported upon to the cohort receiving immediate-release lamotrigine and the accuracy of the estimates provided. Probably most reassuring is the similarity of estimated sudden unexplained death in epilepsy (SUDEP) rates in patients receiving immediate-release lamotrigine and those receiving other AEDs, chemically unrelated to each other, that underwent clinical testing in similar populations. Importantly, that drug is chemically unrelated to lamotrigine. This evidence suggests, although it certainly does not prove, that the high SUDEP rates reflect population rates, not a drug effect.

Addition of LAMICTAL XR to a Multidrug Regimen That Includes Valproate

Because valproate reduces the clearance of lamotrigine, the dosage of lamotrigine in the presence of valproate is less than half of that required in its absence [see DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION, DRUG INTERACTIONS].

Binding in the Eye and Other Melanin-Containing Tissues

Because lamotrigine binds to melanin, it could accumulate in melanin-rich tissues over time. This raises the possibility that lamotrigine may cause toxicity in these tissues after extended use. Although ophthalmological testing was performed in one controlled clinical trial, the testing was inadequate to exclude subtle effects or injury occurring after long-term exposure. Moreover, the capacity of available tests to detect potentially adverse consequences, if any, of lamotrigine binding to melanin is unknown [see CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY].

Accordingly, although there are no specific recommendations for periodic ophthalmological monitoring, prescribers should be aware of the possibility of long-term ophthalmologic effects.

Laboratory Tests

Plasma Concentrations of Lamotrigine

The value of monitoring plasma concentrations of lamotrigine in patients treated with LAMICTAL XR has not been established. Because of the possible pharmacokinetic interactions between lamotrigine and other drugs, including AEDs (see Table 6), monitoring of the plasma levels of lamotrigine and concomitant drugs may be indicated, particularly during dosage adjustments. In general, clinical judgment should be exercised regarding monitoring of plasma levels of lamotrigine and other drugs and whether or not dosage adjustments are necessary.

Effect on Leukocytes

Treatment with LAMICTAL XR caused an increased incidence of subnormal (below the reference range) values in some hematology analytes (e.g., total white blood cells, monocytes). The treatment effect (LAMICTAL XR % - Placebo %) incidence of subnormal counts was 3% for total white blood cells and 4% for monocytes.

Patient Counseling Information

See FDA-approved patient labeling (Medication Guide).

Rash

Prior to initiation of treatment with LAMICTAL XR, the patient should be instructed that a rash or other signs or symptoms of hypersensitivity (e.g., fever, lymphadenopathy) may herald a serious medical event and that the patient should report any such occurrence to a physician immediately.

Suicidal Thinking and Behavior

Patients, their caregivers, and families should be counseled that AEDs, including LAMICTAL XR, may increase the risk of suicidal thoughts and behavior and should be advised of the need to be alert for the emergence or worsening of symptoms of depression; any unusual changes in mood or behavior; or the emergence of suicidal thoughts, behavior, or thoughts about self-harm. Behaviors of concern should be reported immediately to healthcare providers.

Worsening of Seizures

Patients should be advised to notify their physicians if worsening of seizure control occurs.

Central Nervous System Adverse Effects

Patients should be advised that LAMICTAL XR may cause dizziness, somnolence, and other symptoms and signs of central nervous system depression. Accordingly, they should be advised neither to drive a car nor to operate other complex machinery until they have gained sufficient experience on LAMICTAL XR to gauge whether or not it adversely affects their mental and/or motor performance.

Blood Dyscrasias and/or Acute Multiorgan Failure

Patients should be advised of the possibility of blood dyscrasias and/or acute multiorgan failure and to contact their physician immediately if they experience any signs or symptoms of these conditions [see WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS].

Pregnancy

Patients should be advised to notify their physicians if they become pregnant or intend to become pregnant during therapy. Patients should be advised to notify their physicians if they intend to breastfeed or are breastfeeding an infant.

Patients should also be encouraged to enroll in the NAAED Pregnancy Registry if they become pregnant. This registry is collecting information about the safety of antiepileptic drugs during pregnancy. To enroll, patients can call the toll-free number 1-888-233-2334 [see WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS].

Oral Contraceptive Use

Women should be advised to notify their physicians if they plan to start or stop use of oral contraceptives or other female hormonal preparations. Starting estrogen-containing oral contraceptives may significantly decrease lamotrigine plasma levels and stopping estrogen containing oral contraceptives (including the pill-free week) may significantly increase lamotrigine plasma levels [see WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS, CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY]. Women should also be advised to promptly notify their physicians if they experience adverse reactions or changes in menstrual pattern (e.g., break-through bleeding) while receiving LAMICTAL XR in combination with these medications.

Discontinuing LAMICTAL XR

Patients should be advised to notify their physicians if they stop taking LAMICTAL XR for any reason and not to resume LAMICTAL XR without consulting their physicians.

Aseptic Meningitis

Patients should be advised that LAMICTAL XR may cause aseptic meningitis. Patients should be advised to notify their physicians immediately if they develop signs and symptoms of meningitis such as headache, fever, nausea, vomiting, stiff neck, rash, abnormal sensitivity to light, myalgia, chills, confusion, or drowsiness while taking LAMICTAL XR.

Potential Medication Errors

Medication errors involving LAMICTAL have occurred. In particular the names LAMICTAL or lamotrigine can be confused with the names of other commonly used medications. Medication errors may also occur between the different formulations of LAMICTAL. To reduce the potential of medication errors, write and say LAMICTAL XR clearly. Depictions of the LAMICTAL XR Extended-Release Tablets can be found in the Medication Guide. Each LAMICTAL XR tablet has a distinct color and white center, and is printed with “LAMICTAL XR” and the tablet strength. These distinctive features serve to identify the different presentations of the drug and thus may help reduce the risk of medication errors. LAMICTAL XR is supplied in round, unit-of-use bottles with orange caps containing 30 tablets. The label on the bottle includes a depiction of the tablets that further communicates to patients and pharmacists that the medication is LAMICTAL XR and the specific tablet strength included in the bottle. The unit-of-use bottle with a distinctive orange cap and distinctive bottle label features serves to identify the different presentations of the drug and thus may help to reduce the risk of medication errors. To avoid a medication error of using the wrong drug or formulation, patients should be strongly advised to visually inspect their tablets to verify that they are LAMICTAL XR each time they fill their prescription and to immediately talk to their doctor/pharmacist if they receive a LAMICTAL XR tablet without a white center and without “LAMICTAL XR” and the strength printed on the tablet as they may have received the wrong medication [see Dosage Forms and Strengths, HOW SUPPLIED/Storage and Handling].

Nonclinical Toxicology

Carcinogenesis, Mutagenesis, Impairment of Fertility

No evidence of carcinogenicity was seen in mouse or rat following oral administration of lamotrigine for up to 2 years at doses up to 30 mg/kg/day and 10 to 15 mg/kg/day in mouse and rat, respectively. The highest doses tested are less than the human dose of 400 mg/day on a body surface area (mg/m²) basis.

Lamotrigine was negative in in vitro gene mutation (Ames and mouse lymphoma tk) assays and in clastogenicity (in vitro human lymphocyte and in vivo rat bone marrow) assays. No evidence of impaired fertility was detected in rats given oral doses of lamotrigine up to 20 mg/kg/day. The highest dose tested is less than the human dose of 400 mg/day on a mg/m² basis.

Use In Specific Populations

Pregnancy

As with other AEDs, physiological changes during pregnancy may affect lamotrigine concentrations and/or therapeutic effect. There have been reports of decreased lamotrigine concentrations during pregnancy and restoration of pre-partum concentrations after delivery. Dosage adjustments may be necessary to maintain clinical response.

Pregnancy Category C

There are no adequate and well-controlled studies in pregnant women. In animal studies, lamotrigine was developmentally toxic at doses lower than those administered clinically. LAMICTAL XR should be used during pregnancy only if the potential benefit justifies the potential risk to the fetus.

When lamotrigine was administered to pregnant mice, rats, or rabbits during the period of organogenesis (oral doses of up to 125, 25, and 30 mg/kg, respectively), reduced fetal body weight and increased incidences of fetal skeletal variations were seen in mice and rats at doses that were also maternally toxic. The no-effect doses for embryo-fetal developmental toxicity in mice, rats, and rabbits (75, 6.25, and 30 mg/kg, respectively) are similar to (mice and rabbits) or less than the human dose of 400 mg/day on a body surface area (mg/m²) basis.

In a study in which pregnant rats were administered lamotrigine (oral doses of 5 or 25 mg/kg) during the period of organogenesis and offspring were evaluated postnatally, behavioral abnormalities were observed in exposed offspring at both doses. The lowest effect dose for developmental neurotoxicity in rats is less than the human dose of 400 mg/day on a mg/m² basis. Maternal toxicity was observed at the higher dose tested.

When pregnant rats were administered lamotrigine (oral doses of 5, 10, or 20 mg/kg) during the latter part of gestation, increased offspring mortality (including stillbirths) was seen at all doses. The lowest effect dose for peri/postnatal developmental toxicity in rats is less than the human dose of 400 mg/day on a mg/m² basis. Maternal toxicity was observed at the two highest doses tested.

Lamotrigine decreases fetal folate concentrations in rat, an effect known to be associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes in animals and humans.

Pregnancy Registry

To provide information regarding the effects of in utero exposure to LAMICTAL XR, physicians are advised to recommend that pregnant patients taking LAMICTAL XR enroll in the North American Antiepileptic Drug (NAAED) Pregnancy Registry. This can be done by calling the toll-free number 1-888-233-2334, and must be done by patients themselves. Information on the registry can also be found at the website http://www.aedpregnancyregistry.org.

Labor and Delivery

The effect of LAMICTAL XR on labor and delivery in humans is unknown.

Nursing Mothers

Preliminary data indicate that lamotrigine is excreted in human milk. Caution should be exercised when LAMICTAL XR is administered to a nursing woman.

Pediatric Use

LAMICTAL XR is indicated as adjunctive therapy for PGTC and partial onset seizures with or without secondary generalization in patients ≥ 13 years of age. Safety and effectiveness of LAMICTAL XR for any use in patients less than 13 years of age have not been established.

Immediate-release lamotrigine is indicated for adjunctive therapy in patients ≥ 2 years of age for partial seizures, the generalized seizures of Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, and PGTC seizures.

Safety and efficacy of immediate-release lamotrigine, used as adjunctive treatment for partial seizures, were not demonstrated in a small, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled withdrawal study in very young pediatric patients (aged 1 to 24 months). Immediate-release lamotrigine was associated with an increased risk for infectious adverse reactions (lamotrigine 37%, placebo 5%), and respiratory adverse reactions (lamotrigine 26%, placebo 5%). Infectious adverse reactions included bronchiolitis, bronchitis, ear infection, eye infection, otitis externa, pharyngitis, urinary tract infection, and viral infection. Respiratory adverse reactions included nasal congestion, cough, and apnea.

In a juvenile animal study in which lamotrigine (oral doses of 5, 15, or 30 mg/kg) was administered to young rats (postnatal days 7-62), decreased viability and growth were seen at the highest dose tested and long-term behavioral abnormalities (decreased locomotor activity, increased reactivity, and learning deficits in animals tested as adults) were observed at the two highest doses. The no-effect dose for adverse effects on neurobehavioral development is less than the human dose of 400 mg/day on a mg/m² basis.

Geriatric Use

Clinical studies of LAMICTAL XR for epilepsy did not include sufficient numbers of subjects aged 65 years and over to determine whether they respond differently from younger subjects or exhibit a different safety profile than that of younger patients. In general, dose selection for an elderly patient should be cautious, usually starting at the low end of the dosing range, reflecting the greater frequency of decreased hepatic, renal, or cardiac function and of concomitant disease or other drug therapy.

Patients With Hepatic Impairment

Experience in patients with hepatic impairment is limited. Based on a clinical pharmacology study with immediate-release lamotrigine in 24 patients with mild, moderate, and severe liver impairment [see CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY], the following general recommendations can be made. No dosage adjustment is needed in patients with mild liver impairment. Initial, escalation, and maintenance doses should generally be reduced by approximately 25% in patients with moderate and severe liver impairment without ascites and 50% in patients with severe liver impairment with ascites. Escalation and maintenance doses may be adjusted according to clinical response [see DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION].

Patients With Renal Impairment

Lamotrigine is metabolized mainly by glucuronic acid conjugation, with the majority of the metabolites being recovered in the urine. In a small study comparing a single dose of immediate-release lamotrigine in patients with varying degrees of renal impairment with healthy volunteers, the plasma half-life of lamotrigine was approximately twice as long in the patients with significant renal impairment [see CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY].

Initial doses of LAMICTAL XR should be based on patients' AED regimens; reduced maintenance doses may be effective for patients with significant renal impairment. Few patients with severe renal impairment have been evaluated during chronic treatment with lamotrigine. Because there is inadequate experience in this population, LAMICTAL XR should be used with caution in these patients [see DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION].

Last reviewed on RxList: 12/21/2011
This monograph has been modified to include the generic and brand name in many instances.