Overview
DESCRIPTION Levorphanol Tartrate Tablets, contain levorphanol, an opioid agonist with a molecular formula of C 17 H 23 NO • C 4 H 6 O 6 • 2H 2 O and molecular weight 443.5. Each milligram of levorphanol tartrate is equivalent to 0.58 mg levorphanol base. Levorphanol’s chemical name is levo-3-hydroxy-N-methylmorphinan.
Mechanism of Action
CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY Mechanism of Action Levorphanol is a full opioid agonist and is relatively selective for the mu-opioid receptor, although it can bind to other opioid receptors at higher doses. The principal therapeutic action of levorphanol is analgesia. Like all full opioid agonists, there is no ceiling effect for analgesia with levorphanol. Clinically, dosage is titrated to provide adequate analgesia and may be limited by adverse reactions, including respiratory and CNS depression. The precise mechanism of the analgesic action is unknown. However, specific CNS opioid receptors for endogenous compounds with opioid-like activity have been identified throughout the brain and spinal cord and are thought to play a role in the analgesic effects of this drug.
Indications
- INDICATIONS AND USAGE Levorphanol Tartrate Tablets are indicated for the management of pain severe enough to require an opioid analgesic and for which alternative treatments are inadequate. Limitations of Use Because of the risks of addiction, abuse, and misuse with opioids, which can occur at any dosage or duration [see WARNINGS ], reserve Levorphanol Tartrate Tablets for use in patients for whom alternative treatment options (e.g.
Common Doses
- 2 mg
- 3 mg
Dosage
DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION Important Dosage and Administration Instructions Levorphanol Tartrate Tablets should be prescribed only by healthcare professionals who are knowledgeable about the use of opioids and how to mitigate the associated risks. Use the lowest effective dosage for the shortest duration of time consistent with individual patient treatment goals [see WARNINGS ]. Because the risk of overdose increases as opioid doses increase, reserve titration to higher doses of Levorphanol Tartrate Tablets for patients in whom lower doses are insufficiently effective and in whom the expected...
Black Box Warning
WARNING: SERIOUS AND LIFE-THREATENING RISKS FROM USE OF LEVORPHANOL TARTRATE TABLETS Addiction, Abuse, and Misuse Because the use of Levorphanol Tartrate Tablets exposes patients and other users to the risks of opioid addiction, abuse, and misuse, which can lead to overdose and death, assess each patient’s risk prior to prescribing and reassess all patients regularly for the development of these behaviors and conditions [see WARNINGS ].
Contraindications
- CONTRAINDICATIONS Levorphanol Tartrate Tablets are contraindicated in patients with: • Significant respiratory depression [see WARNINGS ] • Acute or severe bronchial asthma in an unmonitored setting or in the absence of resuscitative equipment [see WARNINGS ] • Known or suspected gastrointestinal obstruction, including paralytic ileus [see WARNINGS ] • Hypersensitivity to levorphanol or any of the formulation excipients (e.g., anaphylaxis) [see WARNINGS ]
Side Effects
- ADVERSE REACTIONS In approximately 1400 patients treated with Levorphanol Tartrate Tablets in controlled clinical trials, the type and incidence of side effects were those expected of an opioid analgesic, and no unforeseen or unusual toxicity was reported. Drugs of this type are expected to produce a cluster of typical opioid effects in addition to analgesia, consisting of nausea, vomiting, altered mood and mentation, pruritus, flushing, difficulties in urination, constipation, and biliary spasm. The frequency and intensity of these effects appears to be dose related.
Interactions
- Drug Interactions Benzodiazepines and Other Central Nervous System (CNS) Depressants Due to additive pharmacologic effect, the concomitant use of benzodiazepines and/or other CNS depressants, including alcohol, and other sedatives/hypnotics, anxiolytics, tranquilizers, muscle relaxants, general anesthetics, antipsychotics and other opioids, can increase the risk of hypotension, respiratory depression, profound sedation, coma, and death. Reserve concomitant prescribing of these drugs for use in patients for whom alternative treatment options are inadequate.