Monitor renal function after initiation and periodically in patients with moderate to severe renal impairment (CrCL < 60 mL/min) for increases in serum creatinine accompanied by an increase in BUN.
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.
A total of 2018 patients with chronic angina were treated with ranolazine in controlled clinical trials. Of the patients treated with ranolazine extended-release tablets, 1026 were enrolled in three double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized studies (CARISA, ERICA, MARISA) of up to 12 weeks duration. In addition, upon study completion, 1251 patients received treatment with ranolazine extended-release tablets in open-label, long-term studies; 1227 patients were exposed to ranolazine extended-release tablets for more than 1 year, 613 patients for more than 2 years, 531 patients for more than 3 years, and 326 patients for more than 4 years.
At recommended doses, about 6% of patients discontinued treatment with ranolazine extended-release tablets because of an adverse event in controlled studies in angina patients compared to about 3% on placebo. The most common adverse events that led to discontinuation more frequently on ranolazine extended-release tablets than placebo were dizziness (1.3% versus 0.1%), nausea (1% versus 0%), asthenia, constipation, and headache (each about 0.5% versus 0%). Doses above 1000 mg twice daily are poorly tolerated.
In controlled clinical trials of angina patients, the most frequently reported treatment-emergent adverse reactions (> 4% and more common on ranolazine extended-release tablets than on placebo) were dizziness (6.2%), headache (5.5%), constipation (4.5%), and nausea (4.4%). Dizziness may be dose-related. In open-label, long-term treatment studies, a similar adverse reaction profile was observed.
The following additional adverse reactions occurred at an incidence of 0.5 to 4.0% in patients treated with ranolazine extended-release tablets and were more frequent than the incidence observed in placebo-treated patients:
Gastrointestinal Disorders - abdominal pain, dry mouth, vomiting, dyspepsia
General Disorders and Administrative Site Adverse Events - asthenia, peripheral edema
Other (< 0.5%) but potentially medically important adverse reactions observed more frequently with ranolazine extended-release tablets than placebo treatment in all controlled studies included: angioedema, renal failure, eosinophilia, chromaturia, blood urea increased, hypoesthesia, paresthesia, tremor, pulmonary fibrosis, thrombocytopenia, leukopenia, and pancytopenia.
A large clinical trial in acute coronary syndrome patients was unsuccessful in demonstrating a benefit for ranolazine extended-release tablets, but there was no apparent proarrhythmic effect in these high-risk patients [see Clinical Trials(14.2)].
Laboratory Abnormalities:
Ranolazine extended-release tablets produces elevations of serum creatinine by 0.1 mg/dL, regardless of previous renal function, likely because of inhibition of creatinine's tubular secretion. In general, the elevation has a rapid onset, shows no signs of progression during long-term therapy, is reversible after discontinuation of ranolazine extended-release tablets, and is not accompanied by changes in BUN. In healthy volunteers, ranolazine extended-release tablets 1000 mg twice daily had no effect upon the glomerular filtration rate. More marked and progressive increases in serum creatinine, associated with increases in BUN or potassium, indicating acute renal failure, have been reported after initiation of ranolazine extended-release tablets in patients with severe renal impairment [see Warnings and Precautions (5.2), Use in Specific Populations (8.7)].