Becker's Hospital Review

ARISTADA ® (aripiprazole lauroxil) extended-release injectable suspension, for intramuscular use BRIEF SUMMARY OF PRESCRIBING INFORMATION (For complete details, please see full Prescribing Information and Medication Guide.) WARNING: INCREASED MORTALITY IN ELDERLY PATIENTS WITH DEMENTIA-RELATED PSYCHOSIS • Elderly patients with dementia-related psychosis treated with antipsychotic drugs are at an increased risk of death • ARISTADA is not approved for the treatment of patients with dementia-related psychosis INDICATIONS AND USAGE: ARISTADA is an atypical antipsychotic indicated for the treatment of schizophrenia in adults. CONTRAINDICATIONS: ARISTADA is contraindicated in patients with a known hypersensitivity reaction to aripiprazole. Hypersensitivity reactions have ranged from pruritus/urticaria to anaphylaxis. WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS Increased Mortality in Elderly Patients With Dementia-related Psychosis: Elderly patients with dementia-related psychosis treated with antipsychotic drugs are at an increased risk of death. Analyses of 17 placebo-controlled trials (modal duration of 10 weeks), largely in patients taking atypical antipsychotic drugs, revealed a risk of death in drug-treated patients of between 1.6 to 1.7 times the risk of death in placebo-treated patients. Over the course of a typical 10-week controlled trial, the rate of death in drug-treated patients was about 4.5%, compared to a rate of about 2.6% in the placebo group. Although the causes of death were varied, most of the deaths appeared to be either cardiovascular (e.g., heart failure, sudden death) or infectious (e.g., pneumonia) in nature. Observational studies suggest that, similar to atypical antipsychotic drugs, treatment with conventional antipsychotic drugs may increase mortality. The extent to which the findings of increased mortality in observational studies may be attributed to the antipsychotic drug as opposed to some characteristic(s) of the patients is not clear. ARISTADA is not approved for the treatment of patients with dementia-related psychosis. Cerebrovascular Adverse Reactions, Including Stroke: In placebo-controlled trials with risperidone, aripiprazole, and olanzapine in elderly patients with dementia, there was a higher incidence of cerebrovascular adverse reactions (cerebrovascular accidents and transient ischemic attacks) including fatalities compared to placebo- treated patients. ARISTADA is not approved for the treatment of patients with dementia- related psychosis. Potential for Dosing and Medication Errors: Medication errors, including substitution and dispensing errors, between ARISTADA and ARISTADA INITIO ® (aripiprazole lauroxil) could occur. ARISTADA INITIO is for single administration in contrast to ARISTADA which is administered monthly, every 6 weeks, or every 8 weeks. Do not substitute ARISTADA INITIO for ARISTADA because of differing pharmacokinetic profiles. Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome: A potentially fatal symptom complex sometimes referred to as Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome (NMS) may occur in association with antipsychotic drugs, including ARISTADA. Clinical manifestations of NMS are hyperpyrexia, muscle rigidity, altered mental status, and evidence of autonomic instability (irregular pulse or blood pressure, tachycardia, diaphoresis, and cardiac dysrhythmia). Additional signs may include elevated creatine phosphokinase, myoglobinuria (rhabdomyolysis), and acute renal failure. The diagnostic evaluation of patients with this syndrome is complicated. In arriving at a diagnosis, it is important to identify cases in which the clinical presentation includes both serious medical illness (e.g., pneumonia, systemic infection, etc.) and untreated or inadequately treated extrapyramidal signs and symptoms (EPS). Other important considerations in the differential diagnosis include central anticholinergic toxicity, heat stroke, drug fever, and primary central nervous system pathology. The management of NMS should include (1) immediate discontinuation of antipsychotic drugs and other drugs not essential to concurrent therapy; (2) intensive symptomatic treatment and medical monitoring; and (3) treatment of any concomitant serious medical problems for which specific treatments are available. There is no general agreement about specific pharmacological treatment regimens for uncomplicated NMS. If a patient appears to require antipsychotic drug treatment after recovery from NMS, reintroduction of drug therapy should be closely monitored, since recurrences of NMS have been reported. Tardive Dyskinesia: A syndrome of potentially irreversible, involuntary, dyskinetic movements may develop in patients treated with antipsychotic drugs. Although the prevalence of the syndrome appears to be highest among the elderly, especially elderly women, it is impossible to predict which patients will develop the syndrome. Whether antipsychotic drug products differ in their potential to cause tardive dyskinesia is unknown. The risk of developing tardive dyskinesia and the likelihood that it will become irreversible appear to increase as the duration of treatment and the total cumulative dose of antipsychotic drugs administered to the patient increase, but the syndrome can develop after relatively brief treatment periods at low doses, although this is uncommon. Tardive dyskinesia may remit, partially or completely, if antipsychotic treatment is withdrawn. Antipsychotic treatment itself may suppress (or partially suppress) the signs and symptoms of the syndrome and may thus mask the underlying process. The effect of symptomatic suppression on the long-term course of the syndrome is unknown. Given these considerations, ARISTADA should be prescribed in a manner that is most likely to minimize the occurrence of tardive dyskinesia. Chronic antipsychotic treatment should generally be reserved for patients who suffer from a chronic illness that is known to respond to antipsychotic drugs. In patients who do require chronic treatment, the smallest dose and the shortest duration of treatment producing a satisfactory clinical response should be sought. The need for continued treatment should be reassessed periodically. If signs and symptoms of tardive dyskinesia appear in a patient treated with ARISTADA, drug discontinuation should be considered. However, some patients may require treatment with ARISTADA despite the presence of the syndrome. Metabolic Changes: Atypical antipsychotic drugs have been associated with metabolic changes that include hyperglycemia/diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, and weight gain. While all drugs in the class have been shown to produce some metabolic changes, each drug has its own specific risk profile. Hyperglycemia/Diabetes Mellitus: Hyperglycemia, in some cases extreme and associated with ketoacidosis or hyperosmolar coma or death, has been reported in patients treated with atypical antipsychotics. There have been reports of hyperglycemia in patients treated with oral aripiprazole. Assessment of the relationship between atypical antipsychotic use and glucose abnormalities is complicated by the possibility of an increased background risk of diabetes mellitus in patients with schizophrenia and the increasing incidence of diabetes mellitus in the general population. Given these confounders, the relationship between atypical antipsychotic use and hyperglycemia- related adverse events is not completely understood. However, epidemiological studies suggest an increased risk of hyperglycemia-related adverse reactions in patients treated with the atypical antipsychotics. Patients with an established diagnosis of diabetes mellitus who are started on atypical antipsychotics should be monitored regularly for worsening of glucose control. Patients with risk factors for diabetes mellitus (e.g., obesity, family history of diabetes) who are starting treatment with atypical antipsychotics should undergo fasting blood glucose testing at the beginning of treatment and periodically during treatment. Any patient treated with atypical antipsychotics should be monitored for symptoms of hyperglycemia including polydipsia, polyuria, polyphagia, and weakness. Patients who develop symptoms of hyperglycemia during treatment with atypical antipsychotics should undergo fasting blood glucose testing. In some cases, hyperglycemia has resolved when the atypical antipsychotic was discontinued; however, some patients require continuation of anti-diabetic treatment despite discontinuation of the suspect drug. In the long-term, open-label schizophrenia study with ARISTADA, 14% of patients with normal hemoglobin A1c (<5.7%) at baseline developed elevated levels (≥5.7%) post-baseline. Dyslipidemia: Undesirable alterations in lipids have been observed in patients treated with atypical antipsychotics. In the long-term, open-label schizophrenia study with ARISTADA, shifts in baseline fasting total cholesterol from normal (<200 mg/dL) to high (≥240 mg/dL) were reported in 1% of patients; shifts in baseline fasting LDL cholesterol from normal (<100 mg/dL) to high (≥160 mg/dL) were reported in 1% of patients; and shifts in baseline fasting triglycerides from normal (<150 mg/dL) to high (≥200 mg/dL) were reported in 8% of patients. In the same study, shifts in baseline fasting total cholesterol from borderline (≥200 mg/dL and <240 mg/dL) to high (≥240 mg/dL) were reported in 15% of patients; shifts in baseline fasting LDL cholesterol from borderline (≥100 mg/dL and <160 mg/dL) to high (≥160 mg/dL) were reported in 8% of patients; and shifts in baseline fasting triglycerides from borderline (≥150 mg/dL and <200 mg/dL) to high (≥200 mg/dL) were reported in 35% of patients. In addition, the proportion of patients with shifts in fasting HDL cholesterol from normal (≥40 mg/dL) to low (<40 mg/dL) was reported in 15% of patients. Weight Gain: Weight gain has been observed with atypical antipsychotic use. Clinical monitoring of weight is recommended. The proportion of adult patients with weight gain ≥7% of body weight is presented in Table 1. Table 1: Proportion of Adult Patients With Shifts in Weight in the 12-Week, Placebo-Controlled, Fixed-Dose Schizophrenia Trial Placebo N = 207 (%) ARISTADA 441 mg N = 207 (%) 882 mg N = 208 (%) Weight gain ≥7% increase from baseline 6 10 9 Pathological Gambling and Other Compulsive Behaviors: Post-marketing case reports suggest that patients can experience intense urges, particularly for gambling, and the inability to control these urges while taking aripiprazole. Other compulsive urges, reported less frequently include: sexual urges, shopping, eating or binge eating, and other impulsive or compulsive behaviors. Because patients may not recognize these behaviors as abnormal, it is important for prescribers to ask patients or their caregivers specifically about the development of new or intense gambling urges, compulsive sexual urges, compulsive shopping, binge or compulsive eating, or other urges while being treated with aripiprazole. It should be noted that impulse- control symptoms can be associated with the underlying disorder. In some cases, although not all, urges were reported to have stopped when the dose was reduced or the medication was discontinued. Compulsive behaviors may result in harm for the patient and others if not recognized. Consider dose reduction or stopping the medication if a patient develops such urges. Orthostatic Hypotension: Aripiprazole may cause orthostatic hypotension, perhaps due to its a 1 -adrenergic receptor antagonism. Associated adverse reactions related to orthostatic hypotension can include dizziness, lightheadedness, and tachycardia.

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