Antiarrhythmics
Class Ia antiarrhythmic drugs (Vaughan Williams Classification), such as disopyramide, quinidine, and procainamide, and other class III drugs, such as amiodarone and sotalol, should not be given concomitantly with CORVERT Injection or within 4 hours postinfusion because of their potential to prolong refractoriness. In the clinical trials, class I or other class III antiarrhythmic agents were withheld for at least 5 half-lives prior to ibutilide infusion and for 4 hours after dosing, but thereafter were allowed at the physician's discretion.
Other drugs that prolong the QT interval
The potential for proarrhythmia may increase with the administration of CORVERT Injection to patients who are being treated with drugs that prolong the QT interval, such as phenothiazines, tricyclic antidepressants, tetracyclic antidepressants, and certain antihistamine drugs (H1 receptor antagonists).
Heart block
Of the nine (1.5%) ibutilide-treated patients with reports of reversible heart block, five had first degree, three had second degree, and one had complete heart block.
Laboratory Test Interactions
None known.
Drug Interactions
No specific pharmacokinetic or other formal drug interaction studies were conducted.
Digoxin
Supraventricular arrhythmias may mask the cardiotoxicity associated with excessive digoxin levels. Therefore, it is advisable to be particularly cautious in patients whose plasma digoxin levels are above or suspected to be above the usual therapeutic range. Coadministration of digoxin did not have effects on either the safety or efficacy of ibutilide in the clinical trials.
Calcium channel blocking agents
Coadministration of calcium channel blockers did not have any effect on either the safety or efficacy of ibutilide in the clinical trials.
Beta-adrenergic blocking agents
Coadministration of beta-adrenergic blocking agents did not have any effect on either the safety or efficacy of ibutilide in the clinical trials.
Carcinogenesis, Mutagenesis, Impairment of Fertility
No animal studies have been conducted to determine the carcinogenic potential of CORVERT; however, it was not genotoxic in a battery of assays, (Ames assay, mammalian cell forward gene mutation assay, unscheduled DNA synthesis assay, and mouse micronucleus assay). Similarly, no drug-related effects on fertility or mating were noted in a reproductive study in rats in which ibutilide was administered orally to both sexes up to doses of 20 mg/kg/day. On a mg/m2 basis, corrected for 3% bioavailability, the highest dose tested was approximately four times the maximum recommended human dose (MRHD).
Pregnancy
Ibutilide administered orally was teratogenic (abnormalities included adactyly, interventricular septal defects, and scoliosis) and embryocidal in reproduction studies in rats. On a mg/m2 basis, corrected for the 3% oral bioavailability, the "no adverse effect dose" (5 mg/kg/day given orally) was approximately the same as the maximum recommended human dose (MRHD); the teratogenic dose (20 mg/kg/day given orally) was about four times the MRHD on a mg/m2 basis, or 16 times the MRHD on a mg/kg basis. CORVERT should not be administered to a pregnant woman unless clinical benefit outweighs potential risk to the fetus.
Nursing Mothers
The excretion of ibutilide into breast milk has not been studied; accordingly, breastfeeding should be discouraged during therapy with CORVERT.
Pediatric Use
Clinical tri |
