nimodipine 30 MG Oral Tablet

INDICATIONS AND USAGE Nimodipine is indicated for the improvement of neurological outcome by reducing the incidence and severity of ischemic deficits in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage from ruptured intracranial berry aneurysms regardless of their post-ictus neurological condition (i.e., Hunt and Hess Grades I to V).

DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION DO NOT ADMINISTER NIMODIPINE CAPSULES INTRAVENOUSLY OR BY OTHER PARENTERAL ROUTES (see WARNINGS ). If nimodipine is inadvertently administered intravenously, clinically significant hypotension may require cardiovascular support with pressor agents. Specific treatments for calcium channel blocker overdose should also be given promptly. Nimodipine is given orally in the form of soft gelatin 30 mg capsules for subarachnoid hemorrhage. The recommended oral dose is 60 mg (two 30 mg capsules) every 4 hours for 21 consecutive days. In general, the capsules should be swallowed whole with a little liquid, preferably not less than one hour before or two hours after meals. Grapefruit juice is to be avoided (see PRECAUTIONS, Drug Interactions ). Oral nimodipine therapy should commence as soon as possible within 96 hours of the onset of subarachnoid hemorrhage. If the capsule cannot be swallowed, e.g., at the time of surgery, or if the patient is unconscious, a hole should be made in both ends of the capsule with an 18 gauge needle, and the contents of the capsule extracted into a syringe. A parenteral syringe can be used to extract the liquid inside the capsule, but the liquid should always be transferred to a syringe that cannot accept a needle and that is designed for administration orally or via a naso-gastric tube or PEG. To help minimize administration errors, it is recommended that the syringe used for administration be labeled "Not for IV Use". The contents should then be emptied into the patient's in situ naso-gastric tube and washed down the tube with 30 mL of normal saline (0.9%). Severely disturbed liver function, particularly liver cirrhosis, may result in an increased bioavailability of nimodipine due to a decreased first pass capacity and a reduced metabolic clearance. The reduction in blood pressure and other adverse effects may be more pronounced in these patients. Dosage should be reduced to one 30 mg capsule every 4 hours with close monitoring of blood pressure and heart rate; if necessary, discontinuation of the treatment should be considered. Strong inhibitors of CYP3A4 should not be administered concomitantly with nimodipine (see CONTRAINDICATIONS ). Strong inducers of CYP3A4 should generally not be administered with nimodipine (see WARNINGS ). Patients on moderate and weak inducers of CYP3A4 should be closely monitored for lack of effectiveness, and a nimodipine dose increase may be required. Patients on moderate and weak CYP3A4 inhibitors may require a nimodipine dose reduction in case of hypotension (see PRECAUTIONS, Drug Interactions ).

WARNINGS DEATH DUE TO INADVERTENT INTRAVENOUS ADMINISTRATION: DO NOT ADMINISTER NIMODIPINE INTRAVENOUSLY OR BY OTHER PARENTERAL ROUTES. DEATHS AND SERIOUS, LIFE THREATENING ADVERSE EVENTS, INCLUDING CARDIAC ARREST, CARDIOVASCULAR COLLAPSE, HYPOTENSION, AND BRADYCARDIA, HAVE OCCURRED WHEN THE CONTENTS OF NIMODIPINE CAPSULES HAVE BEEN INJECTED PARENTERALLY (SEE DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION ). Reduced Efficacy with CYP3A4 Inducers: Concomitant use of strong CYP3A4 inducers (e.g. rifampin, phenobarbital, phenytoin, carbamazepine, St John's wort) and nimodipine should generally be avoided, as nimodipine plasma concentration and efficacy may be very significantly reduced (see PRECAUTIONS, Drug Interactions ). Moderate and weak inducers of CYP3A4 may also reduce the efficacy of nimodipine to a lesser extent. Patients on these should be closely monitored for lack of effectiveness, and a nimodipine dosage increase may be required. Moderate and weak CYP3A4 inhibitors include, for example: amprenavir, aprepitant, armodafinil, bosentan, efavirenz, etravirine, echinacea, modafinil, nafcillin, pioglitazone, prednisone and rufinamide.

CONTRAINDICATIONS The concomitant use of nimodipine with strong inhibitors of CYP3A4 such as some macrolide antibiotics (e.g., clarithromycin, telithromycin), some anti-HIV protease inhibitors (e.g., delaviridine, indinavir, nelfinavir, ritonavir, saquinavir), some azole antimycotics (e.g., ketoconazole, itraconazole, voriconazole) and some antidepressants (e.g., nefazadone) is contraindicated because of a risk of significant hypotension (see PRECAUTIONS, Drug Interactions ).

CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY Mechanism of Action Nimodipine is a calcium channel blocker. The contractile processes of smooth muscle cells are dependent upon calcium ions, which enter these cells during depolarization as slow ionic transmembrane currents. Nimodipine inhibits calcium ion transfer into these cells and thus inhibits contractions of vascular smooth muscle. In animal experiments, nimodipine had a greater effect on cerebral arteries than on arteries elsewhere in the body perhaps because it is highly lipophilic, allowing it to cross the blood-brain barrier; concentrations of nimodipine as high as 12.5 ng/mL have been detected in the cerebrospinal fluid of nimodipine-treated subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) patients. The precise mechanism of action of nimodipine in humans is unknown. Although the clinical studies described below demonstrate a favorable effect of nimodipine on the severity of neurological deficits caused by cerebral vasospasm following SAH, there is no arteriographic evidence that the drug either prevents or relieves the spasm of these arteries. However, whether or not the arteriographic methodology utilized was adequate to detect a clinically meaningful effect, if any, on vasospasm is unknown. Pharmacokinetics and Metabolism In man, nimodipine is rapidly absorbed after oral administration, and peak concentrations are generally attained within one hour. The terminal elimination half-life is approximately 8 to 9 hours but earlier elimination rates are much more rapid, equivalent to a half-life of 1 to 2 hours; a consequence is the need for frequent (every 4 hours) dosing. There were no signs of accumulation when nimodipine was given three times a day for seven days. Nimodipine is over 95% bound to plasma proteins. The binding was concentration independent over the range of 10 ng/mL to 10 mcg/mL. Nimodipine is eliminated almost exclusively in the form of metabolites and less than 1% is recovered in the urine as unchanged drug. Numerous metabolites, all of which are either inactive or considerably less active than the parent compound, have been identified. The metabolism of nimodipine is mediated by CYP3A4. Because of a high first-pass metabolism, the bioavailability of nimodipine averages 13% after oral administration. The bioavailability is significantly increased in patients with hepatic cirrhosis, with C max approximately double that in normals which necessitates lowering the dose in this group of patients (see DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION ). In a study of 24 healthy male volunteers, administration of nimodipine capsules following a standard breakfast resulted in a 68% lower peak plasma concentration and 38% lower bioavailability relative to dosing under fasted conditions. In a single parallel-group study involving 24 elderly subjects (aged 59 to 79) and 24 younger subjects (aged 22 to 40), the observed AUC and C max of nimodipine was approximately 2-fold higher in the elderly population compared to the younger study subjects following oral administration (given as a single dose of 30 mg and dosed to steady-state with 30 mg t.i.d. for 6 days). The clinical response to these age-related pharmacokinetic differences, however, was not considered significant. (See PRECAUTIONS: Geriatric Use. ) Clinical Trials Nimodipine has been shown, in 4 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials, to reduce the severity of neurological deficits resulting from vasospasm in patients who have had a recent subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). The trials used doses ranging from 20–30 mg to 90 mg every 4 hours, with drug given for 21 days in 3 studies, and for at least 18 days in the other. Three of the four trials followed patients for 3 to 6 months. Three of the trials studied relatively well patients, with all or most patients in Hunt and Hess Grades I to III (essentially free of focal deficits after the initial bleed) the fourth studied much sicker patients, Hunt and Hess Grades III to V. Two studies, one U.S., one French, were similar in design, with relatively unimpaired SAH patients randomized to nimodipine or placebo. In each, a judgment was made as to whether any late-developing deficit was due to spasm or other causes, and the deficits were graded. Both studies showed significantly fewer severe deficits due to spasm in the nimodipine group; the second (French) study showed fewer spasm-related deficits of all severities. No effect was seen on deficits not related to spasm. * Hunt and Hess Grade ** p=0.03 Patients Study Dose Grade* Number Analyzed Any Deficit Due to Spasm Numbers with Severe Deficit U.S. 20 to 30 mg I to III Nimodipine Placebo 56 60 13 16 1 8** French 60 mg I to III Nimodipine Placebo 31 39 4 11 2 10** A third, large, study was performed in the United Kingdom in SAH patients with all grades of severity (but 89% were in Grades I to III). Nimodipine was dosed 60 mg every 4 hours. Outcomes were not defined as spasm related or not but there was a significant reduction in the overall rate of infarction and severely disabling neurological outcome at 3 months: * p=0.0444 - good and moderate vs severe and dead ** p=0.001 - severe disability *** p=0.056 - death Nimodipine Placebo Total patients 278 276 Good recovery 199* 169 Moderate disability 24 16 Severe disability 12** 31 Death 43*** 60 A Canadian study entered much sicker patients, (Hunt and Hess Grades III to V), who had a high rate of death and disability, and used a dose of 90 mg every 4 hours, but was otherwise similar to the first two studies. Analysis of delayed ischemic deficits, many of which result from spasm, showed a significant reduction in spasm-related deficits. Among analyzed patients (72 nimodipine, 82 placebo), there were the following outcomes. * p = 0.001, nimodipine vs placebo Delayed Ischemic Deficits (DID) Permanent Deficits Nimodipine n (%) Placebo n (%) Nimodipine n (%) Placebo n (%) DID Spasm Alone 8 (11)* 25 (31) 5 (7)* 22 (27) DID Spasm Contributing 18 (25) 21 (26) 16 (22) 17 (21) DID Without Spasm 7 (10) 8 (10) 6 (8) 7 (9) No DID 39 (54) 28 (34) 45 (63) 36 (44) When data were combined for the Canadian and the United Kingdom studies, the treatment difference on success rate (i.e., good recovery) on the Glasgow Outcome Scale was 25.3% (nimodipine) versus 10.9% (placebo) for Hunt and Hess Grades IV or V. The table below demonstrates that nimodipine tends to improve good recovery of SAH patients with poor neurological status post-ictus, while decreasing the numbers with severe disability and vegetative survival. * p = 0.045, nimodipine vs placebo Glasgow Outcome* Nimodipine (n=87) Placebo (n=101) Good Recovery 22 (25.3%) 11 (10.9%) Moderate Disability 8 (9.2%) 12 (11.9%) Severe Disability 6 (6.9%) 15 (14.9%) Vegetative Survival 4 (4.6%) 9 (8.9%) Death 47 (54.0%) 54 (53.5%)