SERIOUS AND OCCASIONALLY FATAL HYPERSENSITIVITY (ANAPHYLACTIC) REACTIONS HAVE BEEN REPORTED IN PATIENTS ON PENICILLIN THERAPY. ALTHOUGH ANAPHYLAXIS IS MORE FREQUENT FOLLOWING PARENTERAL THERAPY, IT HAS OCCURRED IN PATIENTS ON ORAL PENICILLINS. THESE REACTIONS ARE MORE LIKELY TO OCCUR IN INDIVIDUALS WITH A HISTORY OF PENICILLIN HYPERSENSITIVITY AND/OR A HISTORY OF SENSITIVITY TO MULTIPLE ALLERGENS. THERE HAVE BEEN REPORTS OF INDIVIDUALS WITH A HISTORY OF PENICILLIN HYPERSENSITIVITY WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED SEVERE REACTIONS WHEN TREATED WITH CEPHALOSPORINS. BEFORE INITIATING THERAPY WITH AMOXICILLIN, CAREFUL INQUIRY SHOULD BE MADE CONCERNING PREVIOUS HYPERSENSITIVITY REACTIONS TO PENICILLINS, CEPHALOSPORINS, OR OTHER ALLERGENS. IF AN ALLERGIC REACTION OCCURS, AMOXICILLIN SHOULD BE DISCONTINUED AND APPROPRIATE THERAPY INSTITUTED. SERIOUS ANAPHYLACTIC REACTIONS REQUIRE IMMEDIATE EMERGENCY TREATMENT WITH EPINEPHRINE. OXYGEN, INTRAVENOUS STEROIDS, AND AIRWAY MANAGEMENT, INCLUDING INTUBATION, SHOULD ALSO BE ADMINISTERED AS INDICATED.

CLARITHROMYCIN SHOULD NOT BE USED IN PREGNANT WOMEN EXCEPT IN CLINICAL CIRCUMSTANCES WHERE NO ALTERNATIVE THERAPY IS APPROPRIATE. IF PREGNANCY OCCURS WHILE TAKING CLARITHROMYCIN, THE PATIENT SHOULD BE APPRISED OF THE POTENTIAL HAZARD TO THE FETUS. CLARITHROMYCIN HAS DEMONSTRATED ADVERSE EFFECTS OF PREGNANCY OUTCOME AND/OR EMBRYO-FETAL DEVELOPMENT IN MONKEYS, RATS, MICE, AND RABBITS AT DOSES THAT PRODUCED PLASMA LEVELS 2 TO 17 TIMES THE SERUM LEVELS ACHIEVED IN HUMANS TREATED AT THE MAXIMUM RECOMMENDED HUMAN DOSES (see PRECAUTIONS – Pregnancy).

There have been post-marketing reports of colchicine toxicity with concomitant use of clarithromycin and colchicine, especially in the elderly, some of which occurred in patients with renal insufficiency. Deaths have been reported in some such patients (see PRECAUTIONS).

For information about warnings of other drugs that may be used in combination with amoxicillin or clarithromycin, refer to the WARNINGS section of their package inserts.

Clostridium difficile associated diarrhea (CDAD) has been reported with use of nearly all antibacterial agents, including clarithromycin and/or amoxicillin, and may range in severity from mild diarrhea to fatal colitis. Treatment with antibacterial agents alters the normal flora of the colon leading to overgrowth of C. difficile.

C. difficile produces toxins A and B which contribute to the development of CDAD. Hypertoxin producing strains of C. difficile cause increased morbidity and mortality, as these infections can be refractory to antimicrobial therapy and may require colectomy. CDAD must be considered in all patients who present with diarrhea following antibiotic use. Careful medical history is necessary since CDAD has been reported to occur over two months after the administration of antibacterial agents.

If CDAD is suspected or confirmed, ongoing antibiotic use not directed against C. difficile may need to be discontinued. Appropriate fluid and electrolyte management, protein supplementation, antibiotic treatment of C. difficile , and surgical evaluation should be instituted as clinically indicated.

Symptomatic response to therapy with PREVPAC (lansoprazole, amoxicillin and clarithromycin) does not preclude the presence of gastric malignancy.

Clarithromycin is principally excreted via the liver and kidney. Clarithromycin may be administered without dosage adjustment to patients with hepatic impairment and normal renal function. However, in the presence of severe renal impairment with or without coexisting hepatic impairment, decreased dosage or prolonged dosing intervals may be appropriate.

Exacerbation of symptoms of myasthenia gravis and new onset of symptoms of myasthenic syndrome has been reported in patients receiving clarithromycin therapy.

The possibility of superinfections with mycotic or bacterial pathogens should be kept in mind during therapy. If superinfections occur, PREVPAC (lansoprazole, amoxicillin and clarithromycin) should be discontinued and appropriate therapy instituted.

Prescribing PREVPAC (lansoprazole, amoxicillin and clarithromycin) in the absence of a proven or strongly suspected bacterial infection or a prophylactic indication is unlikely to provide benefit to the patient and increases the risk of the development of drug-resistant bacteria.

For information about precautions of other drugs that may be used in combination with PREVPAC (lansoprazole, amoxicillin and clarithromycin) , refer to the PRECAUTIONS section of their package inserts.

Laboratory Tests

Amoxicillin

As with any potent drug, periodic assessment of renal, hepatic, and hematopoietic function should be made during prolonged therapy.

Carcinogenesis, Mutagenesis, Impairment of Fertility

In two 24-month carcinogenicity studies, Sprague-Dawley rats were treated with oral lansoprazole doses of 5 to 150 mg per kg per day, about 1 to 40 times the exposure on a body surface (mg per m²) basis, of a 50-kg person of average height [1.46 m² body surface area (BSA)] given the recommended human dose of 30 mg per day (22.2 mg per m²). Lansoprazole produced dose-related gastric enterochromaffin-like (ECL) cell hyperplasia and ECL cell carcinoids in both male and female rats. It also increased the incidence of intestinal metaplasia of the gastric epithelium in both sexes. In male rats, lansoprazole produced a dose-related increase of testicular interstitial cell adenomas. The incidence of these adenomas in rats receiving doses of 15 to 150 mg per kg per day (4 to 40 times the recommended human dose based on BSA) exceeded the low background incidence (range = 1.4 to 10%) for this strain of rat. In addition, in a one-year toxicity study, testicular interstitial cell adenoma occurred in 1 of 30 rats treated with 50 mg per kg per day of lansoprazole (13 times the recommended human dose based on BSA).

In a 24-month carcinogenicity study, CD-1 mice were treated with oral lansoprazole doses of 15 to 600 mg per kg per day, 2 to 80 times the recommended human dose based on BSA. Lansoprazole produced a dose-related increased incidence of gastric ECL cell hyperplasia. It also produced an increased incidence of liver tumors (hepatocellular adenoma plus carcinoma). The tumor incidences in male mice treated with 300 and 600 mg per kg per day (40 to 80 times the recommended human dose based on BSA) and female mice treated with 150 to 600 mg per kg per day (20 to 80 times the recommended human dose based on BSA) exceeded the ranges of background incidences in historical controls for this strain of mice. Lansoprazole treatment produced adenoma of rete testis in male mice receiving 75 to 600 mg per kg per day (10 to 80 times the recommended human dose based on BSA).

Lansoprazole was not genotoxic in the Ames test, the ex vivo rat hepatocyte unscheduled DNA synthesis (UDS) test, the in vivo mouse micronucleus test, or the rat bone marrow cell chromosomal aberration test. It was positive in in vitro human lymphocyte chromosomal aberration assays.

Lansoprazole at oral doses up to 150 mg per kg per day (40 times the recommended human dose based on BSA) was found to have no effect on fertility and reproductive performance of male and female rats.

Long-term studies in animals have not been performed to evaluate carcinogenic potential. Studies to detect mutagenic potential of amoxicillin alone have not been conducted; however, the following information is available from tests on a 4:1 mixture of amoxicillin and potassium clavulanate. Amoxicillin and potassium clavulanate was non-mutagenic in the Ames bacterial mutation assay, and the yeast gene conversion assay. Amoxicillin and potassium clavulanate was weakly positive in the mouse lymphoma assay, but the trend toward increased mutation frequencies in this assay occurred at doses that were also associated with decreased cell survival. Amoxicillin and potassium clavulanate was negative in the mouse micronucleus test, and in the dominant lethal assay in mice. Potassium clavulanate alone was tested in the Ames bacterial mutation assay and in the mouse micronucleus test, and was negative in each of these assays. In a multi-generation reproduction study in rats, no impairment of fertility or other adverse reproductive effects were seen at doses up to 500 mg per kg (approximately 3 times the human dose in mg per m²).

The following in vitro mutagenicity tests have been conducted with clarithromycin:

Salmonella /Mammalian Microsomes Test
Bacterial Induced Mutation Frequency Test
In Vitro Chromosome Aberration Test
Rat Hepatocyte DNA Synthesis Assay
Mouse Lymphoma Assay
Mouse Dominant Lethal Study
Mouse Micronucleus Test

All tests had negative results except the In Vitro Chromosome Aberration Test which was weakly positive in one test and negative in another.

In addition, a Bacterial Reverse-Mutation Test (Ames Test) has been performed on clarithromycin metabolites with negative results.

Fertility and reproduction studies have shown that daily doses of up to 160 mg per kg per day (1.3 times the recommended maximum human dose based on mg per m²) to male and female rats caused no adverse effects on the estrous cycle, fertility, parturition, or number and viability of offspring. Plasma levels in rats after 150 mg per kg per day were 2 times the human serum levels.

In the 150 mg per kg per day monkey studies, plasma levels were 3 times the human serum levels. When given orally at 150 mg per kg per day (2.4 times the recommended maximum human dose based on mg per m²), clarithromycin was shown to produce embryonic loss in monkeys. This effect has been attributed to marked maternal toxicity of the drug at this high dose.

In rabbits, in utero fetal loss occurred at an intravenous dose of 33 mg per m², which is 17 times less than the maximum proposed human oral daily dose of 618 mg per m².

Long-term studies in animals have not been performed to evaluate the carcinogenic potential of clarithromycin.

Pregnancy

Teratogenic Effects

Pregnancy Category C

Category C is based on the pregnancy category for clarithromycin.

Four teratogenicity studies in rats (three with oral doses and one with intravenous doses up to 160 mg per kg per day administered during the period of major organogenesis) and two in rabbits at oral doses up to 125 mg per kg per day (approximately 2 times the recommended maximum human dose based on mg per m²) or intravenous doses of 30 mg per kg per day administered during gestation days 6 to 18 failed to demonstrate any teratogenicity from clarithromycin. Two additional oral studies in a different rat strain at similar doses and similar conditions demonstrated a low incidence of cardiovascular anomalies at doses of 150 mg per kg per day administered during gestation days 6 to 15. Plasma levels after 150 mg per kg per day were 2 times the human serum levels. Four studies in mice revealed a variable incidence of cleft palate following oral doses of 1000 mg per kg per day (2 and 4 times the recommended maximum human dose based on mg/m², respectively) during gestation days 6 to 15. Cleft palate was also seen at 500 mg per kg per day. The 1000 mg per kg per day exposure resulted in plasma levels 17 times the human serum levels. In monkeys, an oral dose of 70 mg per kg per day (an approximate equidose of the recommended maximum human dose based on mg per m²) produced fetal growth retardation at plasma levels that were 2 times the human serum levels.

There were no adequate and well-controlled studies of PREVPAC (lansoprazole, amoxicillin and clarithromycin) in pregnant women. PREVPAC (lansoprazole, amoxicillin and clarithromycin) should be used during pregnancy only if the potential benefit justifies the potential risk to the fetus (see WARNINGS).

Labor and Delivery

Oral ampicillin-class antibiotics are poorly absorbed during labor. Studies in guinea pigs showed that intravenous administration of ampicillin slightly decreased the uterine tone and frequency of contractions, but moderately increased the height and duration of contractions. However, it is not known whether use of these drugs in humans during labor or delivery has immediate or delayed adverse effects on the fetus, prolongs the duration of labor, or increases the likelihood that forceps delivery or other obstetrical intervention or resuscitation of the newborn will be necessary.

Nursing Mothers

Lansoprazole or its metabolites are excreted in the milk of rats. It is not known whether lansoprazole is excreted in human milk.

Penicillins have been shown to be excreted in human milk. Amoxicillin use by nursing mothers may lead to sensitization of infants. Caution should be exercised when amoxicillin is administered to a nursing woman.

It is not known whether clarithromycin is excreted in human milk. It is known that clarithromycin is excreted in the milk of lactating animals and that other drugs of this class are excreted in human milk.

Due to the potential for serious adverse reactions in nursing infants from PREVPAC (lansoprazole, amoxicillin and clarithromycin) , and the potential for tumorigenicity shown for lansoprazole in rat carcinogenicity studies, a decision should be made whether to discontinue nursing or to discontinue PREVPAC (lansoprazole, amoxicillin and clarithromycin) , taking into account the importance of the therapy to the mother.

Pediatric Use

Safety and effectiveness of PREVPAC (lansoprazole, amoxicillin and clarithromycin) in pediatric patients infected with H. pylori have not been established (see CONTRAINDICATIONS and WARNINGS).

Use in Geriatric Patients

Elderly patients may suffer from asymptomatic renal and hepatic dysfunction. Care should be taken when administering PREVPAC (lansoprazole, amoxicillin and clarithromycin) to this patient population.

An analysis of clinical studies of amoxicillin was conducted to determine whether subjects aged 65 and over respond differently from younger subjects. Of the 1,811 subjects treated with capsules of amoxicillin, 85% were less than 60 years old, 15% were ≥ 61 years old and 7% were ≥ 71 years old. This analysis and other reported clinical experience have not identified differences in responses between the elderly and younger patients, but a greater sensitivity of some older individuals cannot be ruled out.

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 in dose selection, and it may be useful to monitor renal function.

In a steady-state study in which healthy elderly subjects (age 65 to 81 years old) were given 500 mg every 12 hours, the maximum serum concentrations and area under the curves of clarithromycin and 14-OH clarithromycin were increased compared to those achieved in healthy young adults. These changes in pharmacokinetics parallel known age-related decreases in renal function. In clinical trials, elderly patients did not have an increased incidence of adverse events when compared to younger patients. Dosage adjustment should be considered in elderly patients with severe renal impairment (see WARNINGS and PRECAUTIONS).

Last reviewed on RxList: 1/22/2010
This monograph has been modified to include the generic and brand name in many instances.