Source: Health Products Regulatory Authority (IE) Revision Year: 2022 Publisher: Cipla Europe NV, De Keyserlei 58-60, Box-19, 2018 Antwerp, Belgium
In patients with known hypersensitivity to the active substance or to any of the excipients (listed in section 6.1).
As with most new drugs there is only limited data in the elderly and renally or hepatically impaired patients.
Fexofenadine hydrochloride should be administered with care in these special groups.
Patients with a history of or ongoing cardiovascular disease should be warned that, antihistamines as a drug class, have been associated with the adverse events, tachycardia and palpitations (see section 4.8).
This medicine contains less than 1 mmol sodium (23 mg) per tablet, that is to say essentially ‘sodium-free’.
Fexofenadine does not undergo hepatic biotransformation and therefore will not interact with other drugs through hepatic mechanisms. Coadministration of fexofenadine hydrochloride with erythromycin or ketoconazole has been found to result in a 2-3 times increase in the level of fexofenadine in plasma. The changes were not accompanied by any effects on the QT interval and were not associated with any increase in adverse events compared to the drugs given singly.
Animal studies have shown that the increase in plasma levels of fexofenadine observed after coadministration of erythromycin or ketoconazole, appears to be due to an increase in gastrointestinal absorption and either a decrease in biliary excretion or gastrointestinal secretion, respectively.
No interaction between fexofenadine and omeprazole has been observed. However, the administration of an antacid containing aluminium and magnesium hydroxide gels 15 minutes prior to fexofenadine hydrochloride caused a reduction in bioavailability, most likely due to binding in the gastrointestinal tract. It is advisable to leave 2 hours between administration of fexofenadine hydrochloride and aluminium and magnesium hydroxide containing antacids.
There are no adequate data from the use of fexofenadine hydrochloride in pregnant women.
Limited animal studies do not indicate direct or indirect harmful effects with respect to effects on pregnancy, embryonal/foetal development, parturition or postnatal development (see section 5.3). Fexofenadine hydrochloride should not be used during pregnancy unless clearly necessary.
There are no data on the content of human milk after administering fexofenadine hydrochloride. However, when terfenadine was administered to nursing mothers fexofenadine was found to cross into human breast milk. Therefore fexofenadine hydrochloride is not recommended for mothers breast feeding their babies.
No human data on the effect of fexofenadine hydrochloride on fertility are available. In mice, there was no effect on fertility with fexofenadine hydrochloride treatment (see section 5.3).
On the basis of the pharmacodynamic profile and reported adverse events it is unlikely that fexofenadine hydrochloride tablets will produce an effect on the ability to drive or use machines. In objective tests, Fexofenadine has been shown to have no significant effects on central nervous system function. This means that patients may drive or perform tasks that require concentration. However, in order to identify sensitive people who have an unusual reaction to drugs; it is advisable to check the individual response before driving or performing complicated tasks.
The following frequency rating has been used, when applicable: Very common ≥1/10; Common ≥1/100 and <1/10; Uncommon ≥1/1,000 and <1/100; Rare ≥1/10,000 and <1/1,000; Very rare <1/10,000 and not known (frequency cannot be estimated from the available data).
Within each frequency grouping, undesirable effects are presented in order of decreasing seriousness.
In adults, the following undesirable effects have been reported in clinical trials, with an incidence similar to that observed with placebo:
Common: headache, drowsiness, dizziness
Common: nausea
Uncommon: fatigue
In adults, the following undesirable effects have been reported in post-marketing surveillance.
The frequency with which they occur is not known (cannot be estimated from available data):
Immune system disorders: hypersensitivity reactions with manifestations such as angioedema, chest tightness, dyspnoea, flushing and systemic anaphylaxis.
Psychiatric disorders: insomnia, nervousness, sleep disorders or nightmares/excessive dreaming (paroniria).
Cardiac disorders: tachycardia, palpitations.
Gastrointestinal disorders: Diarrhoea.
Skin and subcutaneous tissue disorders: rash, urticaria, pruritus.
Reporting suspected adverse reactions after authorisation of the medicinal product is important. It allows continued monitoring of the benefit/risk balance of the medicinal product. Healthcare professionals are asked to report any suspected adverse reactions via HPRA Pharmacovigilance. Website: www.hpra.ie.
Not applicable.
© All content on this website, including data entry, data processing, decision support tools, "RxReasoner" logo and graphics, is the intellectual property of RxReasoner and is protected by copyright laws. Unauthorized reproduction or distribution of any part of this content without explicit written permission from RxReasoner is strictly prohibited. Any third-party content used on this site is acknowledged and utilized under fair use principles.
