Ultram Description

ULTRAM® ODT (tramadol hydrochloride) Orally Disintegrating Tablets is a centrally acting analgesic in an orally disintegrating formulation using a tablet formulation base. The chemical name for tramadol hydrochloride is (±) cis -2-[(dimethylamino)methyl]-1-(3-methoxyphenyl) cyclohexanol hydrochloride. Its structural formula is:

ULTRAM ODT is supplied as orally disintegrating tablets containing 50 mg of tramadol hydrochloride for oral administration.

Tramadol hydrochloride is a white, bitter, crystalline and odorless powder. It is readily soluble in water and ethanol and has a pKa of 9.41. The n-octanol/water log partition coefficient (logP) is 1.35 at pH 7.

The tablets are white in color and contain the inactive ingredients aspartame, copovidone, crospovidone, ethylcellulose, magnesium stearate, mannitol, mint flavor, and silicon dioxide.

Ultram Indications And Usage

ULTRAM ODT is indicated for the management of moderate to moderately severe pain in adults.

Ultram Contraindications

ULTRAM ODT should not be administered to patients who have previously demonstrated hypersensitivity to tramadol, any other component of this product or other opioids. ULTRAM ODT is contraindicated in any situation where other opioids are contraindicated, including acute intoxication with any of the following: alcohol, hypnotics, narcotics, centrally acting analgesics, opioids or psychotropic drugs. ULTRAM ODT may worsen central nervous system and respiratory depression in these patients.

Ultram Side Effects

Seizure Risk

Seizures have been reported in patients receiving tramadol within the recommended dosage range. Spontaneous post-marketing reports indicate that seizure risk is increased with doses of tramadol above the recommended range. Concomitant use of ULTRAM ODT increases the seizure risk in patients taking:

• Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI antidepressants or anorectics),
• Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), and other tricyclic compounds (e.g., cyclobenzaprine, promethazine, etc.), or
• Other Opioid drugs.

Administration of ULTRAM ODT may enhance the seizure risk in patients taking:

• MAO inhibitors (see also WARNINGS ? Use with MAO Inhibitors),
• Neuroleptics, or
• Other drugs that reduce the seizure threshold.

Risk of convulsions may also increase in patients with epilepsy, those with a history of seizures, or in patients with a recognized risk for seizure (such as head trauma, metabolic disorders, alcohol and drug withdrawal, CNS infections). In ULTRAM ODT overdose, naloxone administration may increase the risk of seizure.

Anaphylactoid Reactions

Serious and rarely fatal anaphylactoid reactions have been reported in patients receiving therapy with tramadol. When these events do occur it is often following the first dose. Other reported allergic reactions include pruritus, hives, bronchospasm, angioedema, toxic epidermal necrolysis and Stevens-Johnson syndrome. Patients with a history of anaphylactoid reactions to codeine and other opioids may be at increased risk and therefore should not receive ULTRAM ODT (see CONTRAINDICATIONS ).

Respiratory Depression

Administer ULTRAM ODT cautiously in patients at risk for respiratory depression. In these patients alternative non-opioid analgesics should be considered. When large doses of tramadol are administered with anesthetic medications or alcohol, respiratory depression may result. Respiratory depression should be treated as an overdose. If naloxone is to be administered, use cautiously because it may precipitate seizures (see WARNINGS, Seizure Risk   and   OVERDOSAGE ).

Interaction With Central Nervous System (Cns) Depressants

ULTRAM ODT should be used with caution and in reduced dosages when administered to patients receiving CNS depressants such as alcohol, other opioids, anesthetic agents, narcotics, phenothiazines, tranquilizers or sedative hypnotics. Tramadol increases the risk of CNS and respiratory depression in these patients.

Increased Intracranial Pressure Or Head Trauma

ULTRAM ODT should be used with caution in patients with increased intracranial pressure or head injury. The respiratory depressant effects of opioids include carbon dioxide retention and secondary elevation of cerebrospinal fluid pressure, and may be markedly exaggerated in these patients. Additionally, pupillary changes (miosis) from tramadol may obscure the existence, extent, or course of intracranial pathology. Clinicians should also maintain a high index of suspicion for adverse drug reaction when evaluating altered mental status in these patients if they are receiving ULTRAM ODT (see Respiratory Depression ).

Sensitivity To Phenylketone

Patients with a history of sensitivity to phenylketones may be at increased risk and therefore should not receive ULTRAM ODT.

Use In Ambulatory Patients

ULTRAM ODT may impair the mental and or physical abilities required for the performance of potentially hazardous tasks such as driving a car or operating machinery. The patient using this drug should be cautioned accordingly.

Use With Mao Inhibitors And Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors

Use ULTRAM ODT with great caution in patients taking monoamine oxidase inhibitors. Animal studies have shown increased deaths with combined administration. Concomitant use of tramadol with MAO inhibitors or SSRI's increases the risk of adverse events, including seizure and serotonin syndrome.

Withdrawal

Withdrawal symptoms may occur if ULTRAM ODT is discontinued abruptly (see DRUG ABUSE AND DEPENDENCE ). These symptoms may include: anxiety, sweating, insomnia, rigors, pain, nausea, tremors, diarrhea, upper respiratory symptoms, piloerection, and rarely hallucinations. Other symptoms that have been seen less frequently with tramadol discontinuation include: panic attacks, severe anxiety, and paresthesias. Clinical experience suggests that withdrawal symptoms may be relieved by tapering the medication.

Physical Dependence and Abuse

ULTRAM ODT may induce psychic and physical dependence of the morphine-type (µ-opioid) (see DRUG ABUSE AND DEPENDENCE ). ULTRAM ODT should not be used in opioid-dependent patients. Tramadol has been shown to reinitiate physical dependence in some patients who have been previously dependent on other opioids. Dependence and abuse, including drug-seeking behavior and taking illicit actions to obtain the drug, are not limited to those patients with prior history of opioid dependence.

Risk Of Overdosage

Serious potential consequences of overdosage with tramadol hydrochloride tablets are central nervous system depression, respiratory depression and death. In treating an overdose, primary attention should be given to maintaining adequate ventilation along with general supportive treatment (see OVERDOSAGE ).

Ultram Precautions

Acute Abdominal Conditions

The administration of ULTRAM ODT may complicate the clinical assessment of patients with acute abdominal conditions.

Use In Renal and Hepatic Disease

Impaired renal function results in a decreased rate and extent of excretion of tramadol and its active metabolite, M1. In patients with creatinine clearances of less than 30 mL/min, dosing reduction is recommended (see DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION ). Metabolism of tramadol and M1 is reduced in patients with advanced cirrhosis of the liver. In cirrhotic patients, dosing reduction is recommended (see DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION ).

With the prolonged half-life in these conditions, achievement of steady-state is delayed, so that it may take several days for elevated plasma concentrations to develop.

Information For Patients

• ULTRAM ODT may impair mental or physical abilities required for the performance of potentially hazardous tasks such as driving a car or operating machinery.
• ULTRAM ODT should not be taken with alcohol containing beverages.
• ULTRAM ODT should be used with caution when taking medications such as tranquilizers, hypnotics or other opiate containing analgesics.
• Female patients should be instructed to inform the physician if they are pregnant, think they might become pregnant, or are trying to become pregnant (see PRECAUTIONS, Labor and Delivery ).
• The patient should understand the single-dose and 24-hour dose limit and the time interval between doses, since exceeding these recommendations can result in respiratory depression, seizures and death.
• To open the blister pack, peel back the foil on the blister. Do not push tablet through the foil. Remove the tablet and place it in the mouth, where it will dissolve in seconds and then be swallowed with the saliva.
• Tablet may be taken with or without water.
• Do NOT chew, break, or split the tablet.
• Phenylketonurics: ULTRAM ODT contains phenylalanine.

Drug Interactions

In vitro studies indicate that tramadol is unlikely to inhibit the CYP3A4-mediated metabolism of other drugs when tramadol is administered concomitantly at therapeutic doses. Tramadol does not appear to induce its own metabolism in humans, since observed maximal plasma concentrations after multiple oral doses are higher than expected based on single-dose data. Tramadol is a mild inducer of selected drug metabolism pathways measured in animals.

Patients taking carbamazepine may have a significantly reduced analgesic effect of tramadol. Because carbamazepine increases tramadol metabolism and because of the seizure risk associated with tramadol, concomitant administration of ULTRAM ODT and carbamazepine is not recommended.

Tramadol is metabolized to M1 by CYP2D6. Quinidine is a selective inhibitor of the isoenzyme, so that concomitant administration of quinidine and tramadol results in increased concentrations of tramadol and reduced concentrations of M1. The clinical consequences of these findings are unknown. In vitro drug interaction studies in human liver microsomes indicate that tramadol has no effect on quinidine metabolism.

In vitro drug interaction studies in human liver microsomes indicate that concomitant administration with inhibitors of CYP2D6 such as fluoxetine, paroxetine, and amitriptyline could result in some inhibition of the metabolism of tramadol.

Concomitant administration with cimetidine does not result in clinically significant changes in tramadol pharmacokinetics. Therefore, no alteration of the ULTRAM ODT dosage regimen is recommended.

Interactions with MAO Inhibitors, due to interference with detoxification mechanisms, have been reported for some centrally acting drugs (see WARNINGS, Use With MAO Inhibitors ).

Post-marketing surveillance of tramadol has revealed rare reports of digoxin toxicity and alteration of warfarin effect, including elevation of prothrombin times.

Carcinogenesis, Mutagenesis, Impairment Of Fertility

A slight, but statistically significant, increase in two common murine tumors, pulmonary and hepatic, was observed in a mouse carcinogenicity study, particularly in aged mice. Mice were dosed orally up to 30 mg/kg (90 mg/m2 or 0.36 times the maximum daily human dosage of 246 mg/m2 ) for approximately two years, although the study was not done with the Maximum Tolerated Dose. This finding is not believed to suggest risk in humans. No such finding occurred in a rat carcinogenicity study (dosing orally up to 30 mg/kg, 180 mg/m2 , or 0.73 times the maximum daily human dosage).

Tramadol was not mutagenic in the following assays: Ames Salmonella microsomal activation test, CHO/HPRT mammalian cell assay, mouse lymphoma assay (in the absence of metabolic activation), dominant lethal mutation tests in mice, chromosome aberration test in Chinese hamsters, and bone marrow micronucleus tests in mice and Chinese hamsters. Weakly mutagenic results occurred in the presence of metabolic activation in the mouse lymphoma assay and micronucleus test in rats. Overall, the weight of evidence from these tests indicates that tramadol does not pose a genotoxic risk to humans.

No effects on fertility were observed for tramadol at oral dose levels up to 50 mg/kg (300 mg/m2 ) in male rats and 75 mg/kg (450 mg/m2 ) in female rats. These dosages are 1.2 and 1.8 times the maximum daily human dosage of 246 mg/m2 , respectively.

Pregnancy, Teratogenic Effects: Pregnancy Category C.

Tramadol has been shown to be embryotoxic and fetotoxic in mice, (120 mg/kg or 360 mg/m2 ), rats (?25 mg/kg or 150 mg/m2 ) and rabbits (?75 mg/kg or 900 mg/m2 ) at maternally toxic dosages, but was not teratogenic at these dose levels. These dosages on a mg/m2 basis are 1.4, ?0.6, and ?3.6 times the maximum daily human dosage (246 mg/m2 ) for mouse, rat and rabbit, respectively.

No drug-related teratogenic effects were observed in progeny of mice (up to 140 mg/kg or 420 mg/m2 ), rats (up to 80 mg/kg or 480 mg/m2 ) or rabbits (up to 300 mg/kg or 3600 mg/m2 ) treated with tramadol by various routes. Embryo and fetal toxicity consisted primarily of decreased fetal weights, skeletal ossification and increased supernumerary ribs at maternally toxic dose levels. Transient delays in developmental or behavioral parameters were also seen in pups from rat dams allowed to deliver. Embryo and fetal lethality were reported only in one rabbit study at 300 mg/kg (3600 mg/m2 ), a dose that would cause extreme maternal toxicity in the rabbit. The dosages listed for mouse, rat and rabbit are 1.7, 1.9 and 14.6 times the maximum daily human dosage (246 mg/m2 ), respectively.

Tramadol was evaluated in peri- and post-natal studies in rats. Progeny of dams receiving oral (gavage) dose levels of 50 mg/kg (300 mg/m2 or 1.2 times the maximum daily human tramadol dosage) or greater had decreased weights, and pup survival was decreased early in lactation at 80 mg/kg (480 mg/m2 or 1.9 and higher the maximum daily human dose).

There are no adequate and well-controlled studies in pregnant women. Tramadol should be used during pregnancy only if the potential benefit justifies the potential risk to the fetus. Neonatal seizures, neonatal withdrawal syndrome, fetal death and still birth have been reported during post-marketing.

Labor and Delivery

ULTRAM ODT should not be used in pregnant women prior to or during labor unless the potential benefits outweigh the risks. Safe use in pregnancy has not been established. Chronic use during pregnancy may lead to physical dependence and post-partum withdrawal symptoms in the newborn (see DRUG ABUSE AND DEPENDENCE ). Tramadol has been shown to cross the placenta. The mean ratio of serum tramadol in the umbilical veins compared to maternal veins was 0.83 for 40 women given tramadol during labor.

The effect of tramadol if any, on the later growth, development, and functional maturation of the child is unknown.

Nursing Mothers

ULTRAM ODT is not recommended for obstetrical preoperative medication or for post-delivery analgesia in nursing mothers because its safety in infants and newborns has not been studied. Following a single IV 100 mg dose of tramadol, the cumulative excretion in breast milk within 16 hours postdose was 100 µg of tramadol (0.1% of the maternal dose) and 27 µg of M1.

Pediatric Use

The safety and efficacy of ULTRAM ODT in patients under 16 years of age have not been established. The use of ULTRAM ODT in the pediatric population is not recommended.

Geriatric Use

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. In patients over 75 years of age, daily doses in excess of 300 mg are not recommended (see CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY   and   DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION ).

A total of 455 elderly (65 years of age or older) subjects were exposed to tramadol in controlled clinical trials. Of those, 145 subjects were 75 years of age and older.

In studies including geriatric patients, treatment-limiting adverse events were higher in subjects over 75 years of age compared to those under 65 years of age. Specifically, 30% of those over 75 years of age had gastrointestinal treatment-limiting adverse events compared to 17% of those under 65 years of age. Constipation resulted in discontinuation of treatment in 10% of those over 75.

Ultram Overdosage

Serious potential consequences of overdosage are respiratory depression, lethargy, coma, seizure, cardiac arrest and death (see WARNINGS ). Fatalities have been reported in post marketing in association with both intentional and unintentional overdose with tramadol. In treating an overdose, primary attention should be given to maintaining adequate ventilation along with general supportive treatment. While naloxone will reverse some, but not all, symptoms caused by overdosage with tramadol, the risk of seizures is also increased with naloxone administration. In animals convulsions following the administration of toxic doses of tramadol could be suppressed with barbiturates or benzodiazepines but were increased with naloxone. Naloxone administration did not change the lethality of an overdose in mice. Hemodialysis is not expected to be helpful in an overdose because it removes less than 7% of the administered dose in a 4-hour dialysis period.

Ultram Risk Of Overdosage

Serious potential consequences of overdosage with tramadol hydrochloride tablets are central nervous system depression, respiratory depression and death. In treating an overdose, primary attention should be given to maintaining adequate ventilation along with general supportive treatment (see OVERDOSAGE ).

Ultram Information For Patients

• ULTRAM ODT may impair mental or physical abilities required for the performance of potentially hazardous tasks such as driving a car or operating machinery.
• ULTRAM ODT should not be taken with alcohol containing beverages.
• ULTRAM ODT should be used with caution when taking medications such as tranquilizers, hypnotics or other opiate containing analgesics.
• Female patients should be instructed to inform the physician if they are pregnant, think they might become pregnant, or are trying to become pregnant (see PRECAUTIONS, Labor and Delivery ).
• The patient should understand the single-dose and 24-hour dose limit and the time interval between doses, since exceeding these recommendations can result in respiratory depression, seizures and death.
• To open the blister pack, peel back the foil on the blister. Do not push tablet through the foil. Remove the tablet and place it in the mouth, where it will dissolve in seconds and then be swallowed with the saliva.
• Tablet may be taken with or without water.
• Do NOT chew, break, or split the tablet.
• Phenylketonurics: ULTRAM ODT contains phenylalanine.