Acute Abdominal Conditions: The administration of narcotics may obscure the diagnosis or clinical course of patients with acute abdominal conditions. The usual precautions should be observed and the possibility of respiratory depression should be kept in mind. Cough Reflex: Hydrocodone suppresses the cough reflex; as with all narcotics, caution should be exercised when hydrocodone bitartrate and acetaminophen tablets are used postoperatively and in patients with pulmonary disease.
Alcohol and other CNS depressants may produce an additive CNS depression, when taken with this combination product, and should be avoided. Hydrocodone may be habit-forming.
Patients should take the drug only for as long as it is prescribed, in the amounts prescribed, and no more frequently than prescribed. Drug Interactions Patients receiving other narcotic analgesics, antihistamines, antipsychotics, antianxiety agents, or other CNS depressants including alcohol concomitantly with hydrocodone bitartrate and acetaminophen tablets may exhibit an additive CNS depression.
When combined therapy is contemplated, the dose of one or both agents should be reduced. The use of MAO inhibitors or tricyclic antidepressants with hydrocodone preparations may increase the effect of either the antidepressant or hydrocodone. Drug and Laboratory Test Interactions Acetaminophen may produce false-positive test results for urinary 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid. Carcinogenesis, Mutagenesis, Impairment of Fertility No adequate studies have been conducted in animals to determine whether hydrocodone or acetaminophen have a potential for carcinogenesis, mutagenesis, or impairment of fertility.
Pregnancy Category C: There are no adequate and well-controlled studies in pregnant women. Hydrocodone bitartrate and acetaminophen tablets should be used during pregnancy only if the potential benefit justifies the potential risk to the fetus.
Nonteratogenic Effects: Babies born to mothers who have been taking opioids regularly prior to delivery will be physically dependent. The withdrawal signs include irritability and excessive crying, tremors, hyperactive reflexes, increased respiratory rate, increased stools, sneezing, yawning, vomiting, and fever.
The intensity of the syndrome does not always correlate with the duration of maternal opioid use or dose. There is no consensus on the best method of managing withdrawal. Labor and Delivery As with all narcotics, administration of hydrocodone bitartrate and acetaminophen tablets to the mother shortly before delivery may result in some degree of respiratory depression in the newborn, especially if higher doses are used.
Nursing Mothers Acetaminophen is excreted in breast milk in small amounts, but the significance of its effects on nursing infants is not known.
It is not known whether hydrocodone is excreted in human milk. Because many drugs are excreted in human milk and because of the potential for serious adverse reactions in nursing infants from hydrocodone and acetaminophen, a decision should be made whether to discontinue nursing or to discontinue the drug, taking into account the importance of the drug to the mother. Pediatric Use Safety and effectiveness in pediatric patients have not been established.
Geriatric Use Clinical studies of hydrocodone bitartrate and acetaminophen tablets did not include sufficient numbers of subjects aged 65 and over to determine whether they respond differently from younger subjects. Other reported clinical experience has not identified differences in responses between the elderly and younger patients.
In general, dose selection for an elderly patient should be cautious, usually starting at the low end of the dosing range, reflecting the greater frequency of decreased hepatic, renal, or cardiac function, and of concomitant disease or other drug therapy.
Hydrocodone and the major metabolites of acetaminophen are known to be substantially excreted by the kidney. Because elderly patients are more likely to have decreased renal function, care should be taken in dose selection, and it may be useful to monitor renal function. Hydrocodone may cause confusion and over-sedation in the elderly; elderly patients generally should be started on low doses of hydrocodone bitartrate and acetaminophen tablets and observed closely.
These effects seem to be more prominent in ambulatory than in nonambulatory patients, and some of these adverse reactions may be alleviated if the patient lies down. Other adverse reactions include: Central Nervous System: Drowsiness, mental clouding, lethargy, impairment of mental and physical performance, anxiety, fear, dysphoria, psychic dependence, mood changes. Gastrointestinal System Prolonged administration of hydrocodone bitartrate and acetaminophen tablets may produce constipation.
Genitourinary System Ureteral spasm, spasm of vesical sphincters and urinary retention have been reported with opiates. Special Senses Cases of hearing impairment or permanent loss have been reported predominantly in patients with chronic overdose.
Dermatological Skin rash, pruritus. The following adverse drug events may be borne in mind as potential effects of acetaminophen: allergic reactions, rash, thrombocytopenia, agranulocytosis. The scheme is similar to a crisis, when fentanyl was appearing in heroin and killing unsuspecting users.
That outbreak tapered off when the Mexican laboratory where the fentanyl-laced heroin was being manufactured was shut down. Now, the ability to pump fentanyl into pills — which are far more attractive to more casual drug users — has led to a crisis far more dangerous.
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