Prescription Drug Information: Dicyclomine Hydrochloride

DICYCLOMINE HYDROCHLORIDE- dicyclomine hydrochloride capsule
Redpharm drug

1 INDICATIONS AND USAGE

Dicyclomine hydrochloride is indicated for the treatment of patients with functional bowel/irritable bowel syndrome.

2 DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION

Dosage must be adjusted to individual patient needs.

2.1 Oral Dosage and Administration in Adults

The recommended initial dose is 20 mg 4 times a day.

After one week treatment with the initial dose, the dose may be increased to 40 mg 4 times a day unless side effects limit dosage escalation.

If efficacy is not achieved within 2 weeks or side effects require doses below 80 mg per day, the drug should be discontinued. Documented safety data are not available for doses above 80 mg daily for periods longer than 2 weeks.

3 DOSAGE FORMS AND STRENGTHS

Dicyclomine Hydrochloride Capsules, USP are available containing 10 mg of dicyclomine hydrochloride, USP.

  • A No. 4, light turquoise blue opaque cap and light turquoise blue opaque body, hard-shell gelatin capsule filled with a white to off-white powder. The capsule is axially printed with ‘DIL’ on cap and ‘10’ on body in black ink.

4 CONTRAINDICATIONS

Dicyclomine hydrochloride is contraindicated in infants less than 6 months of age [see Use in Specific Populations (8.4)], nursing mothers [see Use in Specific Populations (8.3)] and in patients with:

5 WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS

5.2 Cardiovascular Conditions

Dicyclomine hydrochloride needs to be used with caution in conditions characterized by tachyarrhythmia such as thyrotoxicosis, congestive heart failure and in cardiac surgery, where they may further accelerate the heart rate. Investigate any tachycardia before administration of dicyclomine hydrochloride. Care is required in patients with coronary heart disease, as ischemia and infarction may be worsened, and in patients with hypertension [see Adverse Reactions (6.3)].

5.3 Peripheral and Central Nervous System

The peripheral effects of dicyclomine hydrochloride are a consequence of their inhibitory effect on muscarinic receptors of the autonomic nervous system. They include dryness of the mouth with difficulty in swallowing and talking, thirst, reduced bronchial secretions, dilatation of the pupils (mydriasis) with loss of accommodation (cycloplegia) and photophobia, flushing and dryness of the skin, transient bradycardia followed by tachycardia, with palpitations and arrhythmias, and difficulty in micturition, as well as reduction in the tone and motility of the gastrointestinal tract leading to constipation [see Adverse Reactions (6)].

In the presence of high environmental temperature heat prostration can occur with drug use (fever and heat stroke due to decreased sweating). It should also be used cautiously in patients with fever. If symptoms occur, the drug should be discontinued and supportive measures instituted. Because of the inhibitory effect on muscarinic receptors within the autonomic nervous system, caution should be taken in patients with autonomic neuropathy. Central nervous system (CNS) signs and symptoms include confusional state, disorientation, amnesia, hallucinations, dysarthria, ataxia, coma, euphoria, fatigue, insomnia, agitation and mannerisms and inappropriate affect.

Psychosis and delirium have been reported in sensitive individuals (such as elderly patients and/ or in patients with mental illness) given anticholinergic drugs. These CNS signs and symptoms usually resolve within 12 to 24 hours after discontinuation of the drug.

Dicyclomine may produce drowsiness, dizziness or blurred vision. The patient should be warned not to engage in activities requiring mental alertness, such as operating a motor vehicle or other machinery or performing hazardous work while taking dicyclomine.

5.4 Myasthenia Gravis

With overdosage, a curare-like action may occur (i.e., neuromuscular blockade leading to muscular weakness and possible paralysis). It should not be given to patients with myasthenia gravis except to reduce adverse muscarinic effects of an anticholinesterase [see Contraindications (4)].

5.5 Intestinal Obstruction

Diarrhea may be an early symptom of incomplete intestinal obstruction, especially in patients with ileostomy or colostomy. In this instance, treatment with this drug would be inappropriate and possibly harmful [see Contraindications (4)].

Rarely development of Ogilvie’s syndrome (colonic pseudoobstruction) has been reported. Ogilvie’s syndrome is a clinical disorder with signs, symptoms and radiographic appearance of an acute large bowel obstruction but with no evidence of distal colonic obstruction

5.6 Toxic Dilatation of Intestinemegacolon

Toxic dilatation of intestine and intestinal perforation is possible when anticholinergic agents are administered in patients with Salmonella dysentery.

5.7 Ulcerative Colitis

Caution should be taken in patients with ulcerative colitis. Large doses may suppress intestinal motility to the point of producing a paralytic ileus and the use of this drug may precipitate or aggravate the serious complication of toxic megacolon [see Adverse Reactions (6.3)]. Dicyclomine is contraindicated in patients with severe ulcerative colitis [see Contraindications (4)].

5.8 Prostatic Hypertrophy

Dicyclomine should be used with caution in patients with known or suspected prostatic enlargement, in whom prostatic enlargement may lead to urinary retention [see Adverse Reactions (6.3)].

5.9 Hepatic and Renal Disease

Dicyclomine should be used with caution in patients with known hepatic and renal impairment.

5.10 Geriatric Population

Dicyclomine hydrochloride should be used with caution in elderly who may be more susceptible to its adverse effects.

6 ADVERSE REACTIONS

The pattern of adverse effects seen with dicylomine is mostly related to its pharmacological actions at muscarinic receptors [see Clinical Pharmacology (12)]. They are a consequence of the inhibitory effect on muscarinic receptors within the autonomic nervous system. These effects are dose-related and are usually reversible when treatment is discontinued.

The most serious adverse reactions reported with dicyclomine hydrochloride include cardiovascular and central nervous system symptoms [see Warnings and Precautions (5.2, 5.3)].

6.1 Clinical Trials Experience

Because clinical trials are conducted under widely varying conditions, adverse reaction rates observed in the clinical trials of a drug cannot be directly compared to rates in the clinical trials of another drug and may not reflect the rates observed in practice.

The data described below reflect exposure in controlled clinical trials involving over 100 patients treated for functional bowel/irritable bowel syndrome with dicyclomine hydrochloride at initial doses of 160 mg daily (40 mg 4 times a day).

In these trials most of the side effects were typically anticholinergic in nature and were reported by 61% of the patients. Table 1 presents adverse reactions ( MedDRA 13.0 preferred terms) by decreasing order of frequency in a side-by-side comparison with placebo.

Table 1: Adverse reactions experienced in controlled clinical trials with decreasing order of frequency
MedDRA Preferred Term Dicyclomine Hydrochloride (40 mg four times a day) % Placebo %
Dry Mouth 33 5
Dizziness 40 5
Vision Blurred 27 2
Nausea 14 6
Somnolence 9 1
Asthenia 7 1
Nervousness 6 2

Nine percent (9%) of patients were discontinued from dicyclomine because of one or more of these side effects (compared with 2% in the placebo group). In 41% of the patients with side effects, side effects disappeared or were tolerated at the 160 mg daily dose without reduction. A dose reduction from 160 mg daily to an average daily dose of 90 mg was required in 46% of the patients with side effects who then continued to experience a favorable clinical response; their side effects either disappeared or were tolerated.

6.2 Postmarketing Experience

The following adverse reactions, presented by system organ class in alphabetical order, have been identified during post approval use of dicyclomine. Because these reactions are reported voluntarily from a population of uncertain size, it is not always possible to reliably estimate their frequency or establish a causal relationship to drug exposure.

  • Cardiac Disorders: palpitations, tachyarrhythmias
  • Eye Disorders: cycloplegia, mydriasis, vision blurred
  • Gastrointestinal Disorders: abdominal distension, abdominal pain, constipation, dry mouth, dyspepsia, nausea, vomiting
  • General Disorders and Administration Site Conditions: fatigue, malaise
  • Immune System Disorders: drug hypersensitivity including face edema, angioedema, anaphylactic shock
  • Nervous System Disorders: dizziness, headache, somnolence, syncope
  • Psychiatric Disorders: As with the other anticholinergic drugs, cases of delirium or symptoms of delirium such as amnesia (or transient global amnesia), agitation, confusional state, delusion, disorientation, hallucination (including visual hallucination) as well as mania, mood altered and pseudodementia, have been reported with the use of dicyclomine. Nervousness and insomnia have also been reported.
  • Reproductive System and Breast Disorders: suppressed lactation
  • Respiratory, Thoracic and Mediastinal Disorders: dyspnoea, nasal congestion
  • Skin and Subcutaneous Tissue Disorder: dermatitis allergic, erythema, rash
Page 1 of 3 1 2 3

RxDrugLabels.com provides trustworthy package insert and label information about marketed prescription drugs as submitted by manufacturers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Package information is not reviewed or updated separately by RxDrugLabels.com. Every individual prescription drug label and package insert entry contains a unique identifier which can be used to secure further details directly from the U.S. National Institutes of Health and/or the FDA.

As a leading independent provider of trustworthy medication information, we source our database directly from the FDA's central repository of drug labels and package inserts under the Structured Product Labeling standard. RxDrugLabels.com provides the full prescription-only subset of the FDA's repository. Medication information provided here is not intended as a substitute for direct consultation with a qualified health professional.

Terms of Use | Copyright © 2024. All Rights Reserved.