Lotensin HCT

Clinical summary

Indications and usage INDICATIONS AND USAGE Lotensin HCT USP is indicated for the treatment of hypertension. This fixed combination drug is not indicated for the initial therapy of hypertension ( see DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION ). Dosage and administration DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION Dose once daily. The dosage may then be increased after 2 to 3 weeks as needed to help achieve blood pressure goals. The maximum recommended dose is 20/25 mg. Switch Therapy: A patient whose blood pressure is not adequately controlled with benazepril alone or with hydrochlorothiazide alone may be switched to combination therapy with Lotensin HCT. The usual recommended starting dose is 10/12.5 mg once daily to control blood pressure. Replacement Therapy: The combination may be substituted for the titrated individual components. Warnings and cautions WARNINGS 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 benazepril) may be subject to a variety of adverse reactions, some of them serious. Head and Neck Angioedema: Angioedema of the face, extremities, lips, tongue, glottis, and larynx has been reported in patients treated with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors. In U.S. clinical trials, symptoms consistent with angioedema were seen in none of the subjects who received placebo and in about 0.5% of the subjects who received benazepril. Angioedema associated with laryngeal edema can be fatal. If laryngeal stridor or angioedema of the face, tongue, or glottis occurs, treatment with Lotensin HCT should be discontinued and appropriate therapy instituted immediately. When involvement of the tongue, glottis, or larynx appears likely to cause airway obstruction, appropriate therapy, e.g., subcutaneous epinephrine injection 1:1000 (0.3 - 0.5 mL) should be promptly administered ( see PRECAUTIONS and ADVERSE REACTIONS ). Black patients receiving ACE inhibitors have been reported to have a higher incidence of angioedema compared to nonblacks. Patients receiving coadministration of ACE inhibitor and mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) inhibitor (e.g., tesmsirolimus, sirolimus, everolimus) therapy or a neprilysin inhibitor may be at increased risk for angioedema (see PRECAUTIONS ) . 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. 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 were avoided when ACE inhibitors were temporarily withheld, but they reappeared upon inadvertent rechallenge. 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. Hypersensitivity reactions to hydrochlorothiazide are more likely in patients with allergy and asthma. Hypotension Lotensin HCT can cause symptomatic hypotension. Like other ACE inhibitors, benazepril has been only rarely associated with hypotension in uncomplicated hypertensive patients. Symptomatic hypotension is most likely to occur in patients who have been volume and/or salt depleted as a result of prolonged diuretic therapy, dietary salt restriction, dialysis, diarrhea, or vomiting. Volume and/or salt depletion should be corrected before initiating therapy with Lotensin HCT. Lotensin HCT should be used cautiously in patients receiving concomitant therapy with other antihypertensives. The thiazide component of Lotensin HCT may potentiate the action of other antihypertensive drugs, especially ganglionic or peripheral adrenergic-blocking drugs. The antihypertensive effects of the thiazide component may also be enhanced in the postsympathectomy patient. In patients with congestive heart failure, with or without associated renal insufficiency, ACE inhibitor therapy may cause excessive hypotension, which may be associated with oliguria, azotemia, and (rarely) with acute renal failure and death. In such patients, Lotensin HCT therapy should be started under close medical supervision; they should be followed closely for the first 2 weeks of treatment