Anaphylactoid and Possibly Related Reactions:
Presumably because
angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors affect the metabolism of eicosanoids
and polypeptides, including endogenous bradykinin, patients receiving ACE
inhibitors, including trandolapril, may be subject to a variety of adverse
reactions, some of them serious.
Anaphylactoid Reactions During Desensitization −
Two patients undergoing desensitizing treatment with hymenoptera venom while
receiving ACE inhibitors sustained life-threatening anaphylactoid reactions. In
the same patients, these reactions did not occur when ACE inhibitors were
temporarily withheld, but they reappeared when the ACE inhibitors were
inadvertently readministered.
Anaphylactoid Reactions During Membrane Exposure −
Anaphylactoid reactions have been reported in patients dialyzed with high-flux
membranes and treated concomitantly with an ACE inhibitor. Anaphylactoid
reactions have also been reported in patients undergoing low-density lipoprotein
apheresis with dextran sulfate absorption.
Head and Neck Angioedema:
Angioedema of the face,
extremities, lips, tongue, glottis, and larynx has been reported in patients
treated with ACE inhibitors including trandolapril. Symptoms suggestive of
angioedema or facial edema occurred in 0.13% of trandolapril-treated patients.
Two of the four cases were life-threatening and resolved without treatment or
with medication (corticosteroids). Angioedema associated with laryngeal edema
can be fatal. If laryngeal stridor or angioedema of the face, tongue or glottis
occurs, treatment with trandolapril should be discontinued immediately, the
patient treated in accordance with accepted medical care and carefully observed
until the swelling disappears. In instances where swelling is confined to the
face and lips, the condition generally resolves without treatment;
antihistamines may be useful in relieving symptoms.Where there
is involvement of the tongue, glottis, or larynx, likely to cause airway
obstruction, emergency therapy, including but not limited to subcutaneous
epinephrine solution 1:1,000 (0.3 to 0.5 mL) should be promptly administered.
(See PRECAUTIONS: Information for Patients and ADVERSE REACTIONS.)
Intestinal Angioedema:
Intestinal
angioedema has been reported in patients treated with ACE inhibitors. These
patients presented with abdominal pain (with or without nausea or vomiting); in
some cases there was no prior history of facial angioedema and C-1 esterase
levels were normal. The angioedema was diagnosed by procedures including
abdominal CT scan or ultrasound, or at surgery, and symptoms resolved after
stopping the ACE inhibitor. Intestinal angioedema should be included in the
differential diagnosis of patients on ACE inhibitors presenting with abdominal
pain.
Hypotension:
Trandolapril can cause symptomatic
hypotension. Like other ACE inhibitors, trandolapril has only rarely been
associated with symptomatic hypotension in uncomplicated hypertensive patients.
Symptomatic hypotension is most likely to occur in patients who have been salt-
or volume-depleted as a result of prolonged treatment with diuretics, dietary
salt restriction, dialysis, diarrhea, or vomiting. Volume and/or salt depletion
should be corrected before initiating treatment with trandolapril. (See PRECAUTIONS: Drug Interactions, and ADVERSE REACTIONS.) In controlled and
uncontrolled studies, hypotension was reported as an adverse event in 0.6% of
patients and led to discontinuations in 0.1% of patients.
In patients with concomitant congestive heart failure, with or without
associated renal insufficiency, ACE inhibitor therapy may cause excessive
hypotension, which may be associated with oliguria or azotemia, and rarely, with
acute renal failure and death. In such patients, trandolapril therapy should be
started at the recommended dose under close medical supervision. These patients
should be followed closely during the first 2 weeks of treatment and,
thereafter, whenever the dosage of trandolapril or diuretic is increased. (See
DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION.) Care in
avoiding hypotension should also be taken in patients with ischemic heart
disease, aortic stenosis, or cerebrovascular disease.
If symptomatic hypotension occurs, the patient should be placed in the supine
position and, if necessary, normal saline may be administered intravenously. A
transient hypotensive response is not a contraindication to further doses;
however, lower doses of trandolapril or reduced concomitant diuretic therapy
should be considered.
Neutropenia/Agranulocytosis:
Another ACE
inhibitor, captopril, has been shown to cause agranulocytosis and bone marrow
depression rarely in patients with uncomplicated hypertension, but more
frequently in patients with renal impairment, especially if they also have a
collagen-vascular disease such as systemic lupus erythematosus or scleroderma.
Available data from clinical trials of trandolapril are insufficient to show
that trandolapril does not cause agranulocytosis at similar rates. As with other
ACE inhibitors, periodic monitoring of white blood cell counts in patients with
collagen-vascular disease and/or renal disease should be considered.
Hepatic Failure:
ACE inhibitors rarely have been
associated with a syndrome of cholestatic jaundice, fulminant hepatic necrosis,
and death. The mechanism of this syndrome is not understood. Patients receiving
ACE inhibitors who develop jaundice should discontinue the ACE inhibitor and
receive appropriate medical follow-up.
Fetal/Neonatal Morbidity and
Mortality:
ACE inhibitors can cause fetal and neonatal morbidity and
death when administered to pregnant women. Several dozen cases have been
reported in the world literature. When pregnancy is detected, ACE inhibitors
should be discontinued as soon as possible.
The use of ACE inhibitors during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy
has been associated with fetal and neonatal injury, including hypotension,
neonatal skull hypoplasia, anuria, reversible or irreversible renal failure, and
death. Oligohydramnios has also been reported, presumably resulting from
decreased fetal renal function; oligohydramnios in this setting has been
associated with fetal limb contractures, craniofacial deformation, and
hypoplastic lung development. Prematurity, intrauterine growth retardation, and
patent ductus arteriosus have also been reported, although it is not clear
whether these occurrences were due to the ACE inhibitor exposure.
These adverse effects do not appear to have resulted from intrauterine
ACE-inhibitor exposure that has been limited to the first trimester. Mothers
whose embryos and fetuses are exposed to ACE inhibitors only during the first
trimester should be so informed. Nonetheless, when patients become pregnant,
physicians should make every effort to discontinue the use of trandolapril as
soon as possible.
Rarely (probably less often than once in every thousand pregnancies), no
alternative to ACE inhibitors will be found. In these rare cases, the mothers
should be apprised of the potential hazards to their fetuses, and serial
ultrasound examinations should be performed to assess the intra-amniotic
environment.
If oligohydramnios is observed, trandolapril should be discontinued unless it
is considered life-saving for the mother. Contraction stress testing (CST), a
non-stress test (NST), or biophysical profiling (BPP) may be appropriate,
depending upon the week of pregnancy.
Patients and physicians should be aware, however, that oligohydramnios may
not appear until after the fetus has sustained irreversible injury.
Infants with histories of in utero exposure to ACE
inhibitors should be closely observed for hypotension, oliguria, and
hyperkalemia. If oliguria occurs, attention should be directed toward support of
blood pressure and renal perfusion. Exchange transfusions or dialysis may be
required as a means of reversing hypotension and/or substituting for disordered
renal function.
Doses of 0.8 mg/kg/day (9.4 mg/m2/day) in rabbits,
1000 mg/kg/day (7000 mg/m2/day) in rats, and 25 mg/kg/day
(295 mg/m2/day) in cynomolgus monkeys did not produce
teratogenic effects. These doses represent 10 and 3 times (rabbits), 1250 and
2564 times (rats), and 312 and 108 times (monkeys) the maximum projected human
dose of 4 mg based on body-weight and body-surface-area, respectively assuming a
50 kg woman.