Nafcillin 1 g/4mL Injection, Powder, For Solution — NDC 23155-906-41 (Billing 23155-0906-41)

WARNINGS Serious and occasionally fatal hypersensitivity (anaphylactic) reactions have been reported in patients on penicillin therapy. These reactions are more likely to occur in individuals with a history of penicillin hypersensitivity and/or a history of sensitivity to multiple allergens. Before initiating therapy with Nafcillin, careful inquiry should be made concerning previous hypersensitivity reactions to penicillins, cephalosporins, or other allergens.

If an allergic reaction occurs, Nafcillin should be discontinued and appropriate therapy instituted. Clostridium difficile associated diarrhea (CDAD) has been reported with use of nearly all antibacterial agents, including Nafcillin for Injection 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.

ADVERSE REACTIONS Body as a Whole The reported incidence of allergic reactions to penicillin ranges from 0.7 to 10 percent (see WARNINGS ). Sensitization is usually the result of treatment, but some individuals have had immediate reactions to penicillin when first treated. In such cases, it is thought that the patients may have had prior exposure to the drug via trace amounts present in milk or vaccines.

Two types of allergic reactions to penicillins are noted clinically, immediate and delayed. Immediate reactions usually occur within 20 minutes of administration and range in severity from urticaria and pruritus to angioedema, laryngospasm, bronchospasm, hypotension, vascular collapse, and death. Such immediate anaphylactic reactions are very rare (see WARNINGS ) and usually occur after parenteral therapy but have occurred in patients receiving oral therapy.

Another type of immediate reaction, an accelerated reaction, may occur between 20 minutes and 48 hours after administration and may include urticaria, pruritus, and fever. Although laryngeal edema, laryngospasm, and hypotension occasionally occur, fatality is uncommon. Delayed allergic reactions to penicillin therapy usually occur after 48 hours and sometimes as late as 2 to 4 weeks after initiation of therapy.

Manifestations of this type of reaction include serum sickness-like symptoms (i.e., fever, malaise, urticaria, myalgia, arthralgia, abdominal pain) and various skin rashes. Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomatitis, black or hairy tongue, and other symptoms of gastrointestinal irritation may occur, especially during oral penicillin therapy. Local Reactions Pain, swelling, inflammation, phlebitis, thrombophlebitis, and occasional skin sloughing at the injection site have occurred with intravenous administration of nafcillin (See DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION ).

Severe tissue necrosis with sloughing secondary to subcutaneous extravasation of nafcillin has been reported. Nervous System Reactions Neurotoxic reactions similar to those observed with penicillin G could occur with large intravenous or intraventricular doses of nafcillin especially in patients with concomitant hepatic insufficiency and renal dysfunction (see PRECAUTIONS ). Urogenital Reactions Renal tubular damage and interstitial nephritis have been associated with the administration of nafcillin.

Manifestations of this reaction may include rash, fever, eosinophilia, hematuria, proteinuria, and renal insufficiency. Hepatic Reactions Elevation of liver transaminases and/or cholestasis may occur, especially with administration of high doses of nafcillin. Gastrointestinal Reactions Pseudomembranous colitis has been reported with the use of nafcillin.

The onset of pseudomembranous colitis symptoms may occur during or after antibiotic treatment (see WARNINGS ). Metabolic Reactions Agranulocytosis, neutropenia, and bone marrow depression have been associated with the use of nafcillin. To report SUSPECTED ADVERSE REACTIONS, contact Avet Pharmaceuticals Inc. at 1-866-901-DRUG (3784) or FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or www.fda.gov/medwatch.

PRECAUTIONS General Nafcillin should generally not be administered to patients with a history of sensitivity to any penicillin. Penicillin should be used with caution in individuals with histories of significant allergies and/or asthma. Whenever allergic reactions occur, penicillin should be withdrawn unless, in the opinion of the physician, the condition being treated is life-threatening and amenable only to penicillin therapy.

The use of antibiotics may result in overgrowth of nonsusceptible organisms. If new infections due to bacteria or fungi occur, the drug should be discontinued and appropriate measures taken. The liver/biliary tract is the primary route of nafcillin clearance.

Caution should be exercised when patients with concomitant hepatic insufficiency and renal dysfunction are treated with nafcillin. Prescribing Nafcillin for Injection 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. Laboratory Tests Bacteriologic studies to determine the causative organisms and their susceptibility to penicillinase-resistant penicillins should be performed.

(See CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY - MICROBIOLOGY ). In the treatment of suspected staphylococcal infections, therapy should be changed to another active agent if culture tests fail to demonstrate the presence of staphylococci. Periodic assessment of organ system function including renal, hepatic, and hematopoietic should be made during prolonged therapy with nafcillin.

White blood cell and differential cell counts should be obtained prior to initiation of therapy and periodically during therapy with nafcillin. Urinalysis, serum blood urea nitrogen, and creatinine determinations should be performed at baseline and periodically during therapy with nafcillin. Serum bilirubin, SGOT, SGPT, alkaline phosphatase, and gamma glutamyl transferase should be obtained at baseline and periodically during therapy, especially when using high nafcillin doses.

In patients with worsening hepatic function, the risk versus benefit of continued nafcillin use should be re-evaluated. Drug Interactions Tetracycline, a bacteriostatic antibiotic, may antagonize the bactericidal effect of penicillin, and concurrent use of these drugs should be avoided. Nafcillin in high dosage regimens, i.e., 2 grams every 4 hours, has been reported to decrease the effects of warfarin.

When nafcillin and warfarin are used concomitantly, the prothrombin time should be closely monitored and the dose of warfarin adjusted as necessary. This effect may persist for up to 30 days after nafcillin has been discontinued. Nafcillin when administered concomitantly with cyclosporine has been reported to result in subtherapeutic cyclosporine levels.

The nafcillin-cyclosporine interaction was documented in a patient during two separate courses of therapy. When cyclosporine and nafcillin are used concomitantly in organ transplant patients, the cyclosporine levels should be monitored. Drug/Laboratory Test Interactions Nafcillin in the urine can cause a false-positive urine reaction for protein when the sulfosalicyclic acid test is used, but not with the dipstick.

Carcinogenesis, Mutagenesis, Impairment of Fertility No long-term animal studies have been conducted with these drugs. Studies on reproduction (nafcillin) in rats and mice reveal no fetal or maternal abnormalities before conception and continuously through weaning (one generation). Pregnancy Teratogenic Effects Reproduction studies have been performed in the mouse with oral doses up to 20 times the human dose and orally in the rat at doses up to 40 times the human dose and have revealed no evidence of impaired fertility or harm to the rodent fetus due to nafcillin.

There are, however, no adequate or well-controlled studies in pregnant women. Because animal reproduction studies are not always predictive of human response, naf… [Excerpted — this section continues on DailyMed.]