Sulindac (sulindac)

The lowest possible effective dosage and shortest duration of therapy consistent with treatment goals of the patient should be employed. Dosage of sulindac must be adjusted carefully according to individual requirements and response, using the lowest possible effective dosage.

The potential benefits and risks of sulindac therapy as well as alternative therapies should be considered prior to initiating sulindac therapy.

Sulindac is administered orally with food.

No dosing information is available for this tab.

No dosing information is available for this tab.

There is no enhanced messaging for this drug.

There are no contraindication interactions for this drug.

There are no severe interactions for this drug.

There are no moderate interactions for this drug.

There is no enhanced messaging for this drug.

There are no contraindication contraindications for this drug.

There are no severe contraindications for this drug.

There are no moderate contraindications for this drug.

There is no enhanced messaging for this drug.

There are no severe adverse reactions for this drug.

There are no less severe adverse reactions for this drug.

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Use of NSAIAs during pregnancy at about 30 weeks of gestation or later can cause premature closure of the fetal ductus arteriosus, and use at about 20 weeks of gestation or later has been associated with fetal renal dysfunction resulting in oligohydramnios and, in some cases, neonatal renal impairment. Because of these risks, use of NSAIAs should be avoided in pregnant women at about 30 weeks of gestation or later; if NSAIA therapy is necessary between about 20 and 30 weeks of gestation, the lowest effective dosage and shortest possible duration of treatment should be used. Monitoring of amniotic fluid volume via ultrasound examination should be considered if the duration of NSAIA treatment exceeds 48 hours; if oligohydramnios occurs, the drug should be discontinued and follow-up instituted according to clinical practice. Pregnant women should be advised to avoid use of NSAIAs beginning at 20 weeks' gestation unless otherwise advised by a clinician; they should be informed that NSAIAs should be avoided beginning at 30 weeks' gestation because of the risk of premature closure of the fetal ductus arteriosus and that monitoring for oligohydramnios may be necessary if NSAIA therapy is required for longer than 48 hours' duration between about 20 and 30 weeks of gestation.

Known effects of NSAIAs on the human fetus during the third trimester of pregnancy include prenatal constriction of the ductus arteriosus, tricuspid incompetence, and pulmonary hypertension; nonclosure of the ductus arteriosus during the postnatal period (which may be resistant to medical management); and myocardial degenerative changes, platelet dysfunction with resultant bleeding, intracranial bleeding, renal dysfunction or renal failure, renal injury or dysgenesis potentially resulting in prolonged or permanent renal failure, oligohydramnios, GI bleeding or perforation, and increased risk of necrotizing enterocolitis.

Fetal renal dysfunction resulting in oligohydramnios and, in some cases, neonatal renal impairment has been observed, on average, following days to weeks of maternal NSAIA use, although oligohydramnios has been observed infrequently as early as 48 hours after initiation of NSAIA therapy. Oligohydramnios is often, but not always, reversible (generally within 3-6 days) following discontinuance of NSAIA therapy. Complications of prolonged oligohydramnios may include limb contracture and delayed lung maturation. A limited number of case reports have described maternal NSAIA use and neonatal renal dysfunction, in some cases irreversible, without oligohydramnios. Some cases of neonatal renal dysfunction have required treatment with invasive procedures such as exchange transfusion or dialysis. Deaths associated with neonatal renal failure have been reported. Methodologic limitations of these postmarketing studies and case reports include lack of a control group; limited information regarding dosage, duration, and timing of drug exposure; and concomitant use of other drugs. These limitations preclude establishing a reliable estimate of the risk of adverse fetal and neonatal outcomes with maternal NSAIA use. Available data on neonatal outcomes generally involved preterm infants, and the extent to which certain reported risks can be generalized to full-term infants is uncertain.

Animal data indicate that prostaglandins have an important role in endometrial vascular permeability, blastocyst implantation, and decidualization. In animal studies, inhibitors of prostaglandin synthesis, such as sulindac, were associated with increased pre- and post-implantation losses. Prostaglandins also have an important role in fetal kidney development. In animal studies, inhibitors of prostaglandin synthesis impaired kidney development at clinically relevant doses.

In animal reproduction studies in rats, decreased average fetal weight and increased pup mortality were observed on the first postpartum day at sulindac dosages of 2.5 and 5 times the usual maximum daily human dosage, although no adverse effects on survival and growth were observed during the remainder of the postpartum period. NSAIAs, including sulindac, prolong the duration of gestation in rats. Visceral and skeletal malformations that were observed at a low incidence in some teratology studies in rabbits were not observed at the same dosage levels in other studies or at higher dosages in the same species.

The effects of sulindac on labor and delivery are unknown. In studies in rats, drugs that inhibit prostaglandin synthesis, including NSAIAs, increased the incidence of dystocia, delayed parturition, and decreased pup survival.

It is not known whether sulindac is distributed into milk in humans; however, the drug is distributed into the milk of lactating rats. Sulindac should not be used in nursing women and a decision should be made to discontinue nursing or the drug, taking into account the importance of the drug to the woman.

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