Abalam Special Precautions

The precautions relevant to both abacavir and lamivudine are included in this section. There are no additional precautions relevant to Abacavir sulfate and Lamivudine tablets.
Lactic acidosis/severe hepatomegaly with steatosis: Lactic acidosis and severe hepatomegaly with steatosis, including fatal cases, have been reported with the use of antiretroviral nucleoside analogues either alone or in combination, including abacavir and lamivudine. A majority of these cases have been in women.
Clinical features which may be indicative of the development of lactic acidosis include generalised weakness, anorexia and sudden unexplained weight loss, gastrointestinal symptoms and respiratory symptoms (dyspnoea and tachypnoea).
Lactic acidosis has a high mortality and may be associated with pancreatitis, liver failure, or renal failure. Lactic acidosis generally occurred after a few or several months of treatment. Treatment with nucleoside analogues should be discontinued in the setting of symptomatic hyperlactatemia and metabolic/lactic acidosis, progressive hepatomegaly, or rapidly elevating aminotransferase levels.
Caution should be exercised when administering nucleoside analogues particularly in obese women, or in patients with hepatomegaly, hepatitis or other known risk factors for liver disease and hepatic steatosis (including certain medicinal products and alcohol). Patients co-infected with hepatitis C and treated with alpha interferon and ribavirin constitute a risk. Treatment with Abacavir sulfate and Lamivudine tablets should be suspended in any patient who develops clinical or laboratory findings suggestive of lactic acidosis or pronounced hepatotoxicity (which may include hepatomegaly and steatosis even in the absence of marked transaminase elevations).
Serum lipids and blood glucose: Serum lipid and blood glucose levels may increase during antiretroviral therapy. Disease control and life style changes may also be contributing factors. Consideration should be given to the measurement of serum lipids and blood glucose. Lipid disorders should be managed as clinically appropriate.
Pancreatitis: pancreatitis has been reported but a causal relationship to lamivudine and abacavir is uncertain.
Immune Reconstitution Syndrome: In HIV-infected patients with severe immune deficiency at the time of initiation of anti-retroviral therapy (ART), an inflammatory reaction to asymptomatic or residual opportunistic infections may arise and cause serious clinical conditions, or aggravation of symptoms. Typically, such reactions have been observed within the first few weeks or months of initiation of ART. Relevant examples are cytomegalovirus retinitis, generalised and/or focal mycobacterial infections and Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia (often referred to as PCP). Any inflammatory symptoms must be evaluated without delay and treatment initiated when necessary. Autoimmune disorders (such as Graves' disease, polymyositis and Guillain-Barre syndrome) have also been reported to occur in the setting of immune reconstitution, however, the time to onset is more variable, and can occur many months after initiation of treatment and sometimes can be an atypical presentation.
Patients co-infected with hepatitis B virus: Clinical study and marketed use of lamivudine, have shown that some patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) disease may experience clinical or laboratory evidence of recurrent hepatitis upon discontinuation of lamivudine, which may have more severe consequences in patients with decompensated liver disease. If Abacavir sulfate and Lamivudine tablets is discontinued in patients co-infected with hepatitis B virus, periodic monitoring of both liver function tests and markers of HBV replication should be considered.
Patients with chronic hepatitis B or C and treated with combination antiretroviral therapy are at an increased risk of severe and potentially fatal hepatic adverse events. In case of concomitant antiviral therapy for hepatitis B or C, please refer also to the relevant product information for these medicinal products.
Opportunistic infections: Patients receiving Abacavir sulfate and Lamivudine tablets or any other antiretroviral therapy may still develop opportunistic infections and other complications of HIV infection. Therefore patients should remain under close clinical observation by physicians experienced in the treatment of these associated HIV diseases.
Triple nucleoside therapy: There have been reports of a high rate of virological failure, and of emergence of resistance at an early stage when abacavir and lamivudine were combined with tenofovir disoproxil fumarate as a once daily regimen.
Transmission of infection: Patients should be advised that current antiretroviral therapy, including Abacavir sulfate and Lamivudine tablets, has not been proven to prevent the risk of transmission of HIV to others through sexual contact or blood contamination. Appropriate precautions should continue to be taken.
Myocardial Infarction: Several observational, epidemiological studies have reported an association with abacavir use and the risk of myocardial infarction. Meta-analyses of randomised controlled trials have observed no excess risk of myocardial infarction with abacavir use. To date, there is no established biological mechanism to explain a potential increase in risk. In totality, the available data from observational studies and from controlled clinical trials show inconsistency and therefore the evidence for a causal relationship between abacavir treatment and the risk of myocardial infarction is inconclusive.
As a precaution, the underlying risk of coronary heart disease should be considered when prescribing antiretroviral therapies, including abacavir, and action taken to minimize all modifiable risk factors (e.g. hypertension, hyperlipidaemia, diabetes mellitus and smoking).
Mitochondrial dysfunction: nucleoside and nucleotide analogues have been demonstrated in vitro and in vivo to cause a variable degree of mitochondrial damage. There have been reports of mitochondrial dysfunction in HIV-negative infants exposed in utero and/or post-natally to nucleoside analogues. The main adverse events reported are haematological disorders (anaemia, neutropenia), metabolic disorders (hyperlactatemia, hyperlipasemia). These events are often transitory. Some late-onset neurological disorders have been reported (hypertonia, convulsion, abnormal behaviour). Whether the neurological disorders are transient or permanent is currently unknown. Any child exposed in utero to nucleoside and nucleotide analogues, even HIV-negative children, should have clinical and laboratory follow-up and should be fully investigated for possible mitochondrial dysfunction in case of relevant signs or symptoms. These findings do not affect the use of antiretroviral therapy in pregnant women to prevent vertical transmission of HIV.
Effects on Ability to Drive and Use Machines: There have been no studies to investigate the effect of abacavir or lamivudine, on driving performance or the ability to operate machinery. Further, a detrimental effect on such activities cannot be predicted from the pharmacology of these medicinal products. The clinical status of the patient and the adverse event profile of Abacavir sulfate and Lamivudine tablets should be borne in mind when considering the patient's ability to drive or operate machinery.