SYMBRAVO has not been studied in pregnant women. However, there are data pertaining to the use of the individual components, meloxicam and rizatriptan during pregnancy. These data are described below.
Risk Summary
In the U.S. general population, the estimated background risk of major birth defects and miscarriage in clinically recognized pregnancies is 2% to 4% and 15% to 20%, respectively. The reported rate of major birth defects among infants born to women with migraine range from 2.2% to 2.9% and the reported rate of miscarriage was 17%, which are similar to rates reported in women without migraine.
Meloxicam
Use of NSAIDs, including SYMBRAVO, can cause premature closure of the fetal ductus arteriosus and fetal renal dysfunction leading to oligohydramnios and, in some cases, neonatal renal impairment. Because of these risks, limit dose and duration of SYMBRAVO use between about 20 and 30 weeks of gestation, and avoid SYMBRAVO use at about 30 weeks of gestation and later in pregnancy [see Clinical Considerations, Data].
Premature Closure of Fetal Ductus Arteriosus
Use of NSAIDs, including SYMBRAVO, at about 30 weeks gestation or later in pregnancy increases the risk of premature closure of the fetal ductus arteriosus.
Oligohydramnios/Neonatal Renal Impairment
Use of NSAIDs at about 20 weeks gestation or later in pregnancy has been associated with cases of fetal renal dysfunction leading to oligohydramnios, and in some cases, neonatal renal impairment.
Data from observational studies regarding other potential embryofetal risks of NSAID use in women in the first or second trimesters of pregnancy are inconclusive.
In animal reproduction studies, embryofetal death was observed in rats and rabbits treated during the period of organogenesis with meloxicam at oral doses equivalent to 0.5 and 4.9 times, respectively, the maximum recommended human dose (MRHD) of 20 mg of meloxicam, based on body surface area (mg/m2 ). Increased incidence of septal heart defects was observed in rabbits treated throughout embryogenesis with meloxicam at an oral dose equivalent to 59 times the MRHD of 20 mg of meloxicam on a mg/m2 basis. In pre- and post-natal reproduction studies, there was an increased incidence of dystocia, delayed parturition, and decreased offspring survival at 0.06 times the MRHD of 20 mg of meloxicam on a mg/m2 basis. No teratogenic effects were observed in rats and rabbits treated with meloxicam during organogenesis at an oral dose equivalent to 2 and 20 times, respectively, the MRHD of 20 mg of meloxicam on a mg/m2 basis [see Data].
Based on animal data, prostaglandins have been shown to have an important role in endometrial vascular permeability, blastocyst implantation, and decidualization. In animal studies, administration of prostaglandin synthesis inhibitors, such as meloxicam, resulted in increased pre- and post-implantation loss. Prostaglandins also have been shown to have an important role in fetal kidney development. In published animal studies, prostaglandin synthesis inhibitors have been reported to impair kidney development when administered at clinically relevant doses.
Rizatriptan
Available human data on the use of rizatriptan in pregnant women are not sufficient to draw conclusions about drug-associated risk for major birth defects and miscarriage.
In animal studies, developmental toxicity was observed following oral administration of rizatriptan during pregnancy (decreased fetal body weight in rats) or throughout pregnancy and lactation (increased mortality, decreased body weight, and neurobehavioral impairment in rat offspring) at doses greater than the MRHD of 10 mg rizatriptan on a mg/m2 basis [see Animal Data].
Clinical Considerations
Disease-Associated Maternal and/or Embryo/Fetal Risk
In women with migraine, there is an increased risk of adverse perinatal outcomes in the mother, including pre-eclampsia and gestational hypertension.
Fetal/Neonatal Adverse Reactions
Premature Closure of Fetal Ductus Arteriosus:
Avoid use of NSAIDs in women at about 30 weeks gestation and later in pregnancy, because NSAIDs, including SYMBRAVO, can cause premature closure of the fetal ductus arteriosus [see Data].
Oligohydramnios/Neonatal Renal Impairment
If an NSAID is necessary at about 20 weeks gestation or later in pregnancy, limit the use to the lowest effective dose and shortest duration possible. If SYMBRAVO treatment extends beyond 48 hours, consider monitoring with ultrasound for oligohydramnios. If oligohydramnios occurs, discontinue SYMBRAVO and follow up according to clinical practice [see Data].
Labor or Delivery
There are no studies on the effects of SYMBRAVO during labor or delivery. In animal studies, NSAIDs, including meloxicam, inhibit prostaglandin synthesis, cause delayed parturition, and increase the incidence of stillbirth.
Data
Human Data for Meloxicam
Premature Closure of Fetal Ductus Arteriosus:
Published literature reports that the use of NSAIDs at about 30 weeks of gestation and later in pregnancy may cause premature closure of the fetal ductus arteriosus.
Oligohydramnios/Neonatal Renal Impairment:
Published studies and postmarketing reports describe maternal NSAID use at about 20 weeks gestation or later in pregnancy associated with fetal renal dysfunction leading to oligohydramnios, and in some cases, neonatal renal impairment. These adverse outcomes are seen, on average, after days to weeks of treatment, although oligohydramnios has been infrequently reported as soon as 48 hours after NSAID initiation. In many cases, but not all, the decrease in amniotic fluid was transient and reversible with cessation of the drug. There have been a limited number of case reports of maternal NSAID use and neonatal renal dysfunction without oligohydramnios, some of which were irreversible. Some cases of neonatal renal dysfunction required treatment with invasive procedures, such as exchange transfusion or dialysis.
Methodological limitations of these postmarketing studies and reports include lack of a control group; limited information regarding dose, duration, and timing of drug exposure; and concomitant use of other medications. These limitations preclude establishing a reliable estimate of the risk of adverse fetal and neonatal outcomes with maternal NSAID use.
Because the published safety data on neonatal outcomes involved mostly preterm infants, the generalizability of certain reported risks to the full-term infant exposed to NSAIDs through maternal use is uncertain.
Human Data for Rizatriptan
In a pregnancy registry for rizatriptan users, no pattern of congenital anomalies or other adverse birth outcomes was identified over the period of 1998 to 2018. However, the lack of identification of any pattern should be viewed with caution, as the number of prospective reports with outcome information was low and did not provide sufficient power to detect an increased risk of individual birth defects associated with the use of rizatriptan. Additionally, there was significant loss to follow-up in the prospective pregnancy reports, further complicating this assessment of an association between rizatriptan and any pattern of congenital anomalies or other adverse birth outcomes.
In a study using data from the Swedish Medical Birth Register, live births to women who reported using triptans or ergots during pregnancy were compared with those of women who did not. Of the 157 births with first-trimester exposure to rizatriptan, 7 infants were born with malformations (relative risk 1.01 [95% CI: 0.40 to 2.08]). A study using linked data from the Medical Birth Registry of Norway to the Norwegian Prescription Database compared pregnancy outcomes in women who redeemed prescriptions for triptans during pregnancy, as well as a migraine disease comparison group who redeemed prescriptions for triptans before pregnancy only, compared with a population control group. Of the 310 women who redeemed prescriptions for rizatriptan during the first trimester, 10 had infants with major congenital malformations (OR 1.03 [95% CI: 0.55 to 1.93]), while for the 271 women who redeemed prescriptions for rizatriptan before, but not during, pregnancy, 12 had infants with major congenital malformations (OR 1.48 [95% CI: 0.83 to 2.64]), each compared with the population comparison group.
Animal Data
Animal reproduction studies have not been conducted for SYMBRAVO.
Meloxicam
Meloxicam was not teratogenic when administered to pregnant rats during fetal organogenesis at oral doses up to 4 mg/kg/day (2-fold greater than the MRHD of 20 mg of meloxicam on a mg/m2 basis). Administration of meloxicam to pregnant rabbits throughout embryogenesis produced an increased incidence of septal defects of the heart at an oral dose of 60 mg/kg/day (59-fold greater than the MRHD of 20 mg of meloxicam on a mg/m2 basis). The no effect level was 20 mg/kg/day (20-fold greater than the MRHD of 20 mg of meloxicam based on BSA conversion). In rats and rabbits, embryolethality occurred at oral meloxicam doses of 1 mg/kg/day and 5 mg/kg/day, respectively (0.5 and 4.9-fold greater, respectively, than the MRHD of 20 mg of meloxicam on a mg/m2 basis) when administered throughout organogenesis.
Oral administration of meloxicam to pregnant rats during late gestation through lactation increased the incidence of dystocia, delayed parturition, and decreased offspring survival at meloxicam doses of 0.125 mg/kg/day or greater (0.06 times the MRHD of 20 mg of meloxicam based on BSA comparison).
Rizatriptan
When rizatriptan (0, 2, 10, or 100 mg/kg/day) was administered orally to pregnant rats throughout organogenesis, a decrease in fetal body weight was observed at the highest doses tested. The no-effect dose for adverse effects on embryofetal development was 10 mg/kg/day (10 times the MRHD of 10 mg of rizatriptan on a mg/m2 basis). When rizatriptan (0, 5, 10, or 50 mg/kg/day) was administered orally to pregnant rabbits throughout organogenesis, no adverse fetal effects were observed. The highest dose tested of 50 mg/kg/day was 97 times the MRHD of 10 mg of rizatriptan on a mg/m2 basis. Placental transfer of drug to the fetus was demonstrated in both species.
Oral administration of rizatriptan (0, 2, 10, or 100 mg/kg/day) to female rats prior to and during mating and continuing throughout gestation and lactation resulted in reduced body weight in offspring from birth and throughout lactation at all but the lowest dose tested (2 mg/kg/day). The no-effect dose (2 mg/kg/day) for adverse effects on postnatal development was 2 times the MRHD of 10 mg rizatriptan on a mg/m2 basis.
Oral administration of rizatriptan (0, 5, 100, or 250 mg/kg/day) throughout organogenesis and lactation resulted in neonatal mortality, reduced body weight (which persisted into adulthood), and impaired neurobehavioral function in offspring at all but the lowest dose tested. The no-effect dose for adverse effects on postnatal development (5 mg/kg/day) was 5 times the MRHD of 10 mg rizatriptan on a mg/m2 basis.