DETROL LA SIDE EFFECTS
- Generic Name: tolterodine tartrate
- Brand Name: Detrol LA
- Drug Class: Anticholinergics, Genitourinary
SIDE EFFECTS
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.
Clinical Trials Experience
The efficacy and safety of DETROL LA Capsules was evaluated in 1073 patients (537 assigned to DETROL LA; 536 assigned to placebo) who were treated with 2, 4, 6, or 8 mg/day for up to 15 months. These included a total of 1012 patients (505 randomized to DETROL LA 4 mg once daily and 507 randomized to placebo) enrolled in a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, 12-week clinical efficacy and safety study.
Adverse events were reported in 52% (n=263) of patients receiving DETROL LA and in 49% (n=247) of patients receiving placebo. The most common adverse events reported by patients receiving DETROL LA were dry mouth, headache, constipation, and abdominal pain. Dry mouth was the most frequently reported adverse event for patients treated with DETROL LA, occurring in 23.4% of patients treated with DETROL LA and 7.7% of placebo-treated patients. Dry mouth, constipation, abnormal vision (accommodation abnormalities), urinary retention, and dry eyes are expected side effects of antimuscarinic agents. A serious adverse event was reported by 1.4% (n=7) of patients receiving DETROL LA and by 3.6% (n=18) of patients receiving placebo.
Table 1 lists the adverse events, regardless of causality, that were reported in the randomized, doubleblind, placebo-controlled 12-week study at an incidence greater than placebo and in greater than or equal to 1% of patients treated with DETROL LA 4 mg once daily.
Table 1. Incidence* (%) of Adverse Events Exceeding Placebo Rate and Reported in ≥1% of Patients Treated with DETROL LA (4 mg daily) in a 12- week, Phase 3 Clinical Trial
| Body System | Adverse Event | % DETROL LA n=505 |
% Placebo n=507 |
| Autonomic Nervous | dry mouth | 23 | 8 |
| General | headache | 6 | 5 |
| fatigue | 2 | 1 | |
| Central/Peripheral Nervous |
dizziness | 2 | 1 |
| Gastrointestinal | constipation | 6 | 4 |
| abdominal pain | 4 | 2 | |
| dyspepsia | 3 | 1 | |
| Vision | xerophthalmia | 3 | 2 |
| vision abnormal | 1 | 0 | |
| Psychiatric | somnolence | 3 | 2 |
| anxiety | 1 | 0 | |
| Respiratory | sinusitis | 2 | 1 |
| Urinary | dysuria | 1 | 0 |
| *in nearest integer. | |||
The frequency of discontinuation due to adverse events was highest during the first 4 weeks of treatment. Similar percentages of patients treated with DETROL LA or placebo discontinued treatment due to adverse events. Dry mouth was the most common adverse event leading to treatment discontinuation among patients receiving DETROL LA [n=12 (2.4%) vs. placebo n=6 (1.2%)].
Post-Marketing Experience
The following events have been reported in association with tolterodine use in worldwide postmarketing experience:
General: anaphylaxis and angioedema;
Cardiovascular: tachycardia, palpitations, peripheral edema;
Gastrointestinal: diarrhea;
Central/Peripheral Nervous: confusion, disorientation, memory impairment, hallucinations.
Reports of aggravation of symptoms of dementia (e.g., confusion, disorientation, delusion) have been reported after tolterodine therapy was initiated in patients taking cholinesterase inhibitors for the treatment of dementia.
Because these spontaneously reported events are from the worldwide post-marketing experience, the frequency of events and the role of tolterodine in their causation cannot be reliably determined.
SRC: NLM .