Adair is indicated for maintenance treatment of severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) associated with chronic bronchitis in adult patients with a history of frequent exacerbations as add on to bronchodilator treatment.
Roflumilast is a phosphodiesterase-4 (PDE-4) inhibitor which, due to its selective inhibition of the PDE4 isoenzyme, has potential antiinflammatory and antimodulatory effects in the pulmonary system. It is thought that the increased levels of intracellular cyclic AMP are responsible for the therapeutic actions of Roflumilast.
Adult dose : The recommended dose is one tablet of 500 micrograms Roflumilast once daily. Roflumilast may need to be taken for several weeks to achieve its effect. Roflumilast has been studied in clinical trials for up to one year. Elderly (65 years and older) : No dose adjustment is necessary. Renal impairment : No dose adjustment is necessary. Hepatic impairment: The clinical data with Roflumilast in patients with mild hepatic impairment classified as Child-Pugh A are insufficient to recommend a dose adjustment and therefore Roflumilast should be used with caution in these patients. Patients with moderate or severe hepatic impairment classified as Child-Pugh B or C must not take Roflumilast. Pediatric population : There is no relevant use of Roflumilast in the paediatric population (under 18 years). The tablet should be swallowed with water and taken at the same time every day. The tablet can be taken with or without food.
Always consult a registered doctor before taking any medicine. This information is for general knowledge only.
Normally, Adair is well tolerated. Common side-effects are Weight decrease, decreased appetite, sleeplessness, headache, diarrhoea, nausea, stomach ache etc.
Hypersensitivity to Roflumilast or to any of the excipients. Moderate or severe hepatic impairment.
There are no proven cases of hazardous interactions. There is a case report of an interaction with ethanol and a compound containing pyrimethamine with dapsone and another of potentiation of betahistine with salbutamol. Betahistine is a histamine analogue, concurrent administration of H1 antagonists may cause a mutual attenuation of effect of the active agents.
All patients should be informed about the risks of Adair and the precautions for safe use. Rescue medicinal products : Adair is an anti-inflammatory substance; it is not indicated as rescue medicinal product for the relief of acute bronchospasms. Weight decrease : In 1-year studies, a decrease of body weight occurred more frequently in patients treated with Adair compared to placebo-treated patients. After discontinuation of Adair, the majority of patients had regained body weight after 3 months. Body weight of underweight patients should be checked at each visit. Patients should be advised to check their body weight on a regular basis. In the event of an unexplained and clinically concerning weight decrease, the intake of Adair should be stopped and body weight should be further followed-up. Special clinical conditions: Due to lack of relevant experience, treatment with Adair should not be initiated or existing treatment with Adair should be stopped in patients with severe immunological diseases (e.g. HIV infection, multiple sclerosis, lupus erythematosus, progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy), severe acute infectious diseases, cancers (except basal cell carcinoma), or patients being treated with immunosuppressive medicinal products (i.e.: methotrexate, azathioprine, infliximab, etanercept, or oral corticosteroids to be taken long-term; except short-term systemic corticosteroids). Experience in patients with latent infections such as tuberculosis, viral hepatitis, herpes viral infection and herpes zoster is limited. Patients with congestive heart failure (NYHA grades 3 and 4) have not been studied and therefore treatment of these patients is not recommended. Psychiatric disorders: Adair is associated with an increased risk of psychiatric disorders such as insomnia, anxiety, nervousness and depression. Rare instances of suicidal ideation and behaviour, including completed suicide, have been observed in patients with or without history of depression, usually within the first weeks of treatment. The risks and benefits of starting or continuing treatment with Adair should be carefully assessed if patients report previous or existing psychiatric symptoms or if concomitant treatment with other medicinal products likely to cause psychiatric events is intended. Adair is not recommended in patients with a history of depression associated with suicidal ideation or behaviour. Patients and caregivers should be instructed to notify the prescriber of any changes in behaviour or mood and of any suicidal ideation. If patients suffered from new or worsening psychiatric symptoms, or suicidal ideation or suicidal attempt is identified, it is recommended to discontinue treatment with Adair. Persistent intolerability : While adverse reactions like diarrhoea, nausea, abdominal pain and headache mainly occur within the first weeks of therapy and mostly resolve on continued treatment, Adair treatment should be reassessed in case of persistent intolerability. This might be the case in special populations that may have higher exposure, such as in black, nonsmoking females or in patients concomitantly treated with the CYP1A2 inhibitor such as fluvoxamine or the dual CYP3A4/1A2 inhibitors such as enoxacin and cimetidine. Theophylline : There are no clinical data to support the concomitant treatment with theophylline for maintenance therapy. Therefore, the concomitant treatment with theophylline is not recommended. Lactose : Adair tablets contain lactose. Patients with rare hereditary problems of galactose intolerance, the Lapp lactase deficiency or glucose-galactose malabsorption should not take this medicinal product.