Vituz Oral Solution

Name: Vituz Oral Solution

Indications and Usage for Vituz Oral Solution

Cough and Upper Respiratory Allergy Symptoms

VITUZ® Oral Solution is indicated for relief of cough and symptoms associated with upper respiratory allergies or a common cold in adults 18 years of age and older.

Important Limitations of Use

Not indicated for pediatric patients under 18 years of age [see Use in Specific Populations (8.4)].

Dosage Forms and Strengths

VITUZ is a clear, colorless to light yellow, grape-flavored liquid.

5 mL of Vituz Oral Solution contains: hydrocodone bitartrate, USP, 5 mg and chlorpheniramine maleate, USP, 4 mg [see Description (11)].

Drug Abuse and Dependence

Controlled Substance

Vituz Oral Solution is a Schedule II controlled prescription containing hydrocodone bitartrate and should be prescribed and administered with caution.

Abuse

Hydrocodone can produce drug dependence of the morphine type and therefore, has the potential for being abused. Psychic dependence, physical dependence, and tolerance may develop upon repeated administration of Vituz Oral Solution, and it should be prescribed and administered with the same degree of caution appropriate to the use of other opioid drugs.

Dependence

Psychic dependence, physical dependence, and tolerance may develop upon repeated administration of opioids; therefore, Vituz Oral Solution should be prescribed and administered with caution.

Physical dependence, the condition in which continued administration of the drug is required to prevent the appearance of a withdrawal syndrome, assumes clinically significant proportions only after several weeks of continued oral opioid use, although some mild degree of physical dependence may develop after a few days of opioid therapy.

Overdosage

No human overdosage data are available for Vituz Oral Solution.

Hydrocodone:

Overdosage with hydrocodone is characterized by respiratory depression (a decrease in respiratory rate and/or tidal volume, Cheyne-Stokes respiration, cyanosis), extreme somnolence progressing to stupor or coma, skeletal muscle flaccidity, cold and clammy skin, and sometimes bradycardia and hypotension. In severe overdosage, apnea, circulatory collapse, cardiac arrest, and death may occur.

Chlorpheniramine:

Manifestations of chlorpheniramine overdosage may vary from central nervous system depression to stimulation. Central toxic effects are characterized by agitation, anxiety, delirium, disorientation, hallucinations, hyperactivity, sedation, and seizures. Severe overdosage may produce coma, medullary paralysis, and death. Peripheral toxicity includes hypertension, tachycardia, dysrhythmias, vasodilation, hyperpyrexia, mydriasis, urinary retention, and diminished gastrointestinal motility. Dry mouth, pharynx, bronchi, and nasal passages may be observed.

Impaired secretion from sweat glands following toxic doses of drugs with anticholinergic side effects may predispose to hyperthermia.

An adult ingested 400 mg chlorpheniramine with no reported serious adverse effects. Toxic psychosis, a possible class effect from overdose of sedating antihistamines, has been reported with accidental overdose of chlorpheniramine.

Treatment of overdosage consists of discontinuation of Vituz Oral Solution together with institution of appropriate therapy. Primary attention should be given to the reestablishment of adequate respiratory exchange through provision of a patent airway and the institution of assisted or controlled ventilation. The opioid antagonist naloxone hydrochloride is a specific antidote for respiratory depression which may result from overdosage or unusual sensitivity to opioids including hydrocodone. Therefore, an appropriate dose of naloxone hydrochloride should be administered, preferably by the intravenous route, simultaneously with efforts at respiratory resuscitation. For further information, see full prescribing information for naloxone hydrochloride.

An antagonist should not be administered in the absence of clinically significant respiratory depression. Oxygen, intravenous fluids, vasopressors, and other supportive measures should be employed as indicated. Gastric emptying may be useful in removing unabsorbed drug.

Hemodialysis is not routinely used to enhance the elimination of chlorpheniramine from the body. Urinary excretion of chlorpheniramine is increased when the pH of the urine is acidic; however, acid diuresis is NOT recommended to enhance elimination in overdose, as the risks of acidemia and acute tubular necrosis in patients with rhabdomyolysis far outweigh any potential benefit.

Vituz Oral Solution Description

Vituz Oral Solution contains hydrocodone bitartrate (a semisynthetic centrally-acting opioid antitussive) and chlorpheniramine maleate (an antihistamine).

Each 5 mL dose of Vituz Oral Solution contains: hydrocodone bitartrate, USP, 5 mg and chlorpheniramine maleate, USP, 4 mg.

Vituz Oral Solution also contains: citric acid anhydrous, glycerin, grape flavor, methylparaben, propylene glycol, propylparaben, purified water, sodium citrate, sodium saccharin, and sucrose.

Hydrocodone bitartrate is morphinan-6-one, 4,5-epoxy-3-methoxy-17-methyl-, (5α)-, [R-(R*,R*)]-2,3-dihydroxybutanedioate (1:1), hydrate (2:5); also known as 4,5α-Epoxy-3-methoxy-17-methylmorphinan-6-one tartrate (1:1) hydrate (2:5); a fine white crystal or crystalline powder, which is derived from the opium alkaloid, thebaine; and may be represented by the following structural formula:

Hydrocodone Bitartrate
C18H21NO3 ∙ C4H6O6 ∙ 2.5 H2O
Molecular weight = 494.5

Chlorpheniramine maleate is 2-pyridinepropanamine, γ-(4-chlorophenyl)-N,N-dimethyl-, (Z)-2-butenedioate (1:1) and has the following chemical structure:

Chlorpheniramine Maleate
C16H19C1N2 ∙ C4H4O4
Molecular weight = 390.86

Nonclinical Toxicology

Carcinogenesis, Mutagenesis, Impairment of Fertility

Carcinogenicity, mutagenicity, and reproductive studies have not been conducted with Vituz Oral Solution; however, published information is available for the individual active ingredients or related active ingredients.

Hydrocodone:

Carcinogenicity studies were conducted with codeine, an opiate related to hydrocodone. In 2 year studies in F344/N rats and B6C3F1 mice, codeine showed no evidence of tumorigenicity at dietary doses up to 70 and 400 mg/kg/day, respectively (approximately 30 and 80 times, respectively, the MRHDD of hydrocodone on a mg/m2 basis).

Chlorpheniramine:

In 2 year studies in F344/N rats and B6C3F1 mice, chlorpheniramine maleate showed no evidence of tumorigenicity when administered 5 days/week at oral doses up to 30 and 50 mg/kg/day, respectively (approximately 15 times the MRHDD on a mg/m2 basis).

Chlorpheniramine maleate was not mutagenic in the in vitro bacterial reverse mutation assay or the in vitro mouse lymphoma forward mutation assay. Chlorpheniramine maleate was clastogenic in the in vitro CHO cell chromosomal aberration assay.

Chlorpheniramine maleate had no effects on fertility in rats and rabbits at oral doses approximately 20 and 25 times the MRHDD on a mg/m2 basis, respectively.

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