ADVAIR HFA is indicated for treatment of asthma in adult and adolescent patients aged 12 years and older. ADVAIR HFA should be used for patients not adequately controlled on a long-term asthma control medication such as an inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) or whose disease warrants initiation of treatment with both an ICS and long-acting beta2-adrenergic agonist (LABA).

ADVAIR HFA is NOT indicated for the relief of acute bronchospasm.

ADVAIR HFA has not been studied in the relief of acute symptoms and extra doses should not be used for that purpose. Acute symptoms should be treated with an inhaled, short-acting beta2-agonist.

ADVAIR HFA should be administered as 2 inhalations twice daily approximately 12 hours apart by the orally inhaled route only. After inhalation, the patient should rinse his/her mouth with water without swallowing to help reduce the risk of oropharyngeal candidiasis.

More frequent administration or a greater number of inhalations (more than 2 inhalations twice daily) of the prescribed strength of ADVAIR HFA is not recommended as some patients are more likely to experience adverse effects with higher doses of salmeterol. Patients using ADVAIR HFA should not use additional LABA for any reason.

The maximum recommended dosage is 2 inhalations of ADVAIR HFA 230 mcg/21 mcg twice daily.

If asthma symptoms arise in the period between doses, an inhaled, short-acting beta2-agonist should be taken for immediate relief.

When beginning treatment with ADVAIR HFA, patients who have been taking oral or inhaled, short-acting beta2-agonists on a regular basis (e.g., 4 times a day) should be instructed to discontinue the regular use of these drugs.

The use of ADVAIR HFA is contraindicated in the primary treatment of status asthmaticus or other acute episodes of asthma where intensive measures are required.

Use of LABA as monotherapy (without ICS) for asthma is associated with an increased risk of asthma-related death. Available data from controlled clinical trials also suggest that use of LABA as monotherapy increases the risk of asthma-related hospitalization in pediatric and adolescent patients. When LABA are used in fixed-dose combination with ICS, data from large clinical trials do not show a significant increase in the risk of serious asthma-related events (hospitalizations, intubations, death) compared with ICS alone. 

ADVAIR HFA should not be initiated in patients during rapidly deteriorating or potentially life-threatening episodes of asthma. ADVAIR HFA has not been studied in subjects with acutely deteriorating asthma. The initiation of ADVAIR HFA in this setting is not appropriate.

ADVAIR HFA should not be used more often than recommended, at higher doses than recommended, or in conjunction with other medicines containing LABA, as an overdose may result. Clinically significant cardiovascular effects and fatalities have been reported in association with excessive use of inhaled sympathomimetic drugs. Patients using ADVAIR HFA should not use another medicine containing a LABA (e.g., salmeterol, formoterol fumarate, arformoterol tartrate, indacaterol) for any reason.

Serious acute respiratory events, including fatalities, have been reported when salmeterol, a component of ADVAIR HFA, has been initiated in patients with significantly worsening or acutely deteriorating asthma.  In most cases, these have occurred in patients with severe asthma (e.g., patients with a history of corticosteroid dependence, low pulmonary function, intubation, mechanical ventilation, frequent hospitalizations, previous life-threatening acute asthma exacerbations) and in some patients with acutely deteriorating asthma (e.g., patients with significantly increasing symptoms; increasing need for inhaled, short-acting beta2-agonists; decreasing response to usual medications; increasing need for systemic corticosteroids; recent emergency room visits; deteriorating lung function). However, these events have occurred in a few patients with less severe asthma as well. It was not possible from these reports to determine whether salmeterol contributed to these events.

Increasing use of inhaled, short-acting beta2-agonists is a marker of deteriorating asthma. In this situation, the patient requires immediate reevaluation with reassessment of the treatment regimen, giving special consideration to the possible need for replacing the current strength of ADVAIR HFA with a higher strength, adding additional ICS, or initiating systemic corticosteroids.

In clinical trials, the development of localized infections of the mouth and pharynx with Candida albicans has occurred in subjects treated with ADVAIR HFA.

Lower respiratory tract infections, including pneumonia, have been reported in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) following the inhaled administration of corticosteroids, including fluticasone propionate and ADVAIR DISKUS.

Persons who are using drugs that suppress the immune system are more susceptible to infections than healthy individuals. Chickenpox and measles, for example, can have a more serious or even fatal course in susceptible children or adults using corticosteroids. In such children or adults who have not had these diseases or been properly immunized, particular care should be taken to avoid exposure. If a patient is exposed to chickenpox, prophylaxis with varicella zoster immune globulin (VZIG) may be indicated. If a patient is exposed to measles, prophylaxis with pooled intramuscular immunoglobulin (IG) may be indicated. If chickenpox develops, treatment with antiviral agents may be considered.

ICS should be used with caution, if at all, in patients with active or quiescent tuberculosis infections of the respiratory tract; systemic fungal, bacterial, viral, or parasitic infections; or ocular herpes simplex.

Particular care is needed for patients who have been transferred from systemically active corticosteroids to ICS because deaths due to adrenal insufficiency have occurred in patients with asthma during and after transfer from systemic corticosteroids to less systemically available ICS. After withdrawal from systemic corticosteroids, a number of months are required for recovery of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) function.

Transfer of patients from systemic corticosteroid therapy to ADVAIR HFA may unmask allergic conditions previously suppressed by the systemic corticosteroid therapy (e.g., rhinitis, conjunctivitis, eczema, arthritis, eosinophilic conditions). During withdrawal from oral corticosteroids, some patients may experience symptoms of systemically active corticosteroid withdrawal (e.g., joint and/or muscular pain, lassitude, depression) despite maintenance or even improvement of respiratory function.

As with other inhaled medicines, ADVAIR HFA can produce paradoxical bronchospasm, which may be life-threatening. If paradoxical bronchospasm occurs following dosing with ADVAIR HFA, it should be treated immediately with an inhaled, short-acting bronchodilator; ADVAIR HFA should be discontinued immediately; and alternative therapy should be instituted.

Immediate hypersensitivity reactions (e.g., urticaria, angioedema, rash, bronchospasm, hypotension), including anaphylaxis, may occur after administration of ADVAIR HFA.

Excessive beta-adrenergic stimulation has been associated with seizures, angina, hypertension or hypotension, tachycardia with rates up to 200 beats/min, arrhythmias, nervousness, headache, tremor, palpitation, nausea, dizziness, fatigue, malaise, and insomnia. Therefore, ADVAIR HFA, like all products containing sympathomimetic amines, should be used with caution in patients with cardiovascular disorders, especially coronary insufficiency, cardiac arrhythmias, and hypertension.

Decreases in bone mineral density (BMD) have been observed with long-term administration of products containing ICS.

Orally inhaled corticosteroids may cause a reduction in growth velocity when administered to pediatric patients.

Glaucoma, increased intraocular pressure, and cataracts have been reported in patients with asthma following the long-term administration of ICS, including fluticasone propionate, a component of ADVAIR HFA.

In rare cases, patients on inhaled fluticasone propionate, a component of ADVAIR HFA, may present with systemic eosinophilic conditions.

ADVAIR HFA, like all medicines containing sympathomimetic amines, should be used with caution in patients with convulsive disorders or thyrotoxicosis and in those who are unusually responsive to sympathomimetic amines. Large doses of the related beta2-adrenoceptor agonist albuterol, when administered intravenously, have been reported to aggravate preexisting diabetes mellitus and ketoacidosis.

Beta-adrenergic agonist medicines may produce significant hypokalemia in some patients, possibly through intracellular shunting, which has the potential to produce adverse cardiovascular effects.

The use of strong cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) inhibitors (e.g., ritonavir, atazanavir, clarithromycin, indinavir, itraconazole, nefazodone, nelfinavir, saquinavir, ketoconazole, telithromycin) with ADVAIR HFA is not recommended because increased systemic corticosteroid and increased cardiovascular adverse effects may occur.

A drug interaction trial with fluticasone propionate aqueous nasal spray in healthy subjects has shown that ritonavir (a strong CYP3A4 inhibitor) can significantly increase plasma fluticasone propionate exposure, resulting in significantly reduced serum cortisol concentrations.

Co-administration of orally inhaled fluticasone propionate (1,000 mcg) and ketoconazole (200 mg once daily) resulted in a 1.9-fold increase in plasma fluticasone propionate exposure and a 45% decrease in plasma cortisol area under the curve (AUC), but had no effect on urinary excretion of cortisol.

Co-administration of salmeterol and ketoconazole was associated with more frequent increases in QTc duration compared with salmeterol and placebo administration.

ADVAIR HFA should be administered with extreme caution to patients being treated with monoamine oxidase inhibitors or tricyclic antidepressants, or within 2 weeks of discontinuation of such agents, because the action of salmeterol, a component of ADVAIR HFA, on the vascular system may be potentiated by these agents.

Beta-blockers not only block the pulmonary effect of beta-agonists, such as salmeterol, a component of ADVAIR HFA, but may also produce severe bronchospasm in patients with asthma. Therefore, patients with asthma should not normally be treated with beta-blockers. However, under certain circumstances, there may be no acceptable alternatives to the use of beta-adrenergic blocking agents for these patients; cardioselective beta-blockers could be considered, although they should be administered with caution.

The ECG changes and/or hypokalemia that may result from the administration of non–potassium-sparing diuretics (such as loop or thiazide diuretics) can be acutely worsened by beta-agonists, such as salmeterol, a component of ADVAIR HFA, especially when the recommended dose of the beta-agonist is exceeded.

There are insufficient data on the use of ADVAIR HFA or individual monoproducts, fluticasone propionate and salmeterol xinafoate, in pregnant women. Animal studies: decreased fetal body weight, skeletal variations, omphalocele, embryo-fetal deaths, and cleft palate.

Because of the potential for beta-agonist interference with uterine contractility, use of ADVAIR HFA during labor should be restricted to those patients in whom the benefits clearly outweigh the risks.

There are no available data on the presence of fluticasone propionate or salmeterol in human milk, the effects on the breastfed child, or the effects on milk production. Other corticosteroids have been detected in human milk.

GoToSource

• Use in patients under the age of 12. GoToSource

• Acute bronchospasm. GoToSource

Increased risk of severe asthma attacks or asthma-related deaths. GoToSource

Ischemia (inadequate blood supply to a local area), congestive heart failure, arrhythmias and sudden death. GoToSource

Osteoporosis. GoToSource

Hoarseness and dysphonia (voice disorder). GoToSource

Churg-strauss syndrome (inflammation of blood vessels). GoToSource

Increased risk of pneumonia. GoToSource

Paradoxical bronchospasm. GoToSource

Adrenal suppression and cushing’s syndrome (metabolic disorder caused by overproduction of corticosteroid hormones). GoToSource

Peripheral edema (fluid accumulation in body tissues). GoToSource

Ocular hypertension (eye pressure above normal range) and glaucoma. GoToSource

Worsening diabetic control. GoToSource

Increased glucose concentrations, fall in diastolic blood pressure and plasma potassium concentration and increase in systolic blood pressure. GoToSource

Growth suppression. GoToSource

Lawsuits filed for deaths, heart attacks, arrhythmia and worsening asthma symptoms.