Avamys

The prophylaxis and treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis (including hay fever) and perennial rhinitis. Fluticasone propionate has potent anti-inflammatory activity but when used topically on the nasal mucosa has no detectable systemic activity.

Avamys Aqueous Nasal Spray is for administration by the intranasal route only.

Contact with the eyes should be avoided.

Adults and children over 12 years of age:

For the prophylaxis and treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis and perennial rhinitis. Two sprays into each nostril once a day, preferably in the morning. In some cases two sprays into each nostril twice daily may be required. Once symptoms are under control a maintenance dose of one spray per nostril once a day may be used. If symptoms recur the dosage may be increased accordingly. The minimum dose should be used at which effective control of symptoms is maintained. The maximum daily dose should not exceed four sprays into each nostril.

Elderly patients:

The normal adult dosage is applicable.

Children under 12 years of age:

For the prophylaxis and treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis and perennal rhinitis in children aged 4-11 years a dose of one spray into each nostril once daily preferably in the morning is recommended. In some cases one spray into each nostril twice daily may be required. The maximum daily dose should not exceed two sprays into each nostril. The minimum dose should be used at which effective control of symptoms is maintained.

For full therapeutic benefit regular usage is essential. The absence of an immediate effect should be explained to the patient, as maximum relief may not be obtained until after 3 to 4 days of treatment.

Local infections: infections of the nasal airways should be appropriately treated but do not constitute a specific contra-indication to treatment with Avamys Aqueous Nasal Spray.

The full benefit of Avamys Aqueous Nasal Spray may not be achieved until treatment has been administered for several days.

Care must be taken while transferring patients from systemic steroid treatment to Avamys Aqueous Nasal Spray if there is any reason to suppose that their adrenal function is impaired.

Although Avamys Aqueous Nasal Spray will control seasonal allergic rhinitis in most cases, an abnormally heavy challenge of summer allergens may in certain instances necessitate appropriate additional therapy.

Systemic effects of nasal corticosteroids may occur particularly at high doses prescribed for prolonged periods.2). Potential systemic effects may include Cushing's syndrome, Cushingoid features, adrenal suppression, growth retardation in children and adolescents and more rarely, a range of psychological or behavioural effects including psychomotor hyperactivity, sleep disorders, anxiety, depression or aggression (particularly in children).

Growth retardation has been reported in children receiving some nasal corticosteroids at licensed doses. It is recommended that the height of children receiving prolonged treatment with nasal corticosteroids is regularly monitored. If growth is slowed, therapy should be reviewed with the aim of reducing the dose of nasal corticosteroid, if possible, to the lowest dose at which effective control of symptoms is maintained. In addition, consideration should be given to referring the patient to a paediatric specialist.

The full benefit of fluticasone propionate aqueous nasal spray may not be achieved until treatment has been administered for several days.

Ritonavir can greatly increase the concentration of fluticasone propionate in plasma. Therefore, concomitant use should be avoided, unless the potential benefit to the patient outweighs the risk of systemic corticosteroid side effects. There is also an increased risk of systemic side effects when combining fluticasone propionate with other potent CYP3A inhibitors (see

None reported.

Adverse events are listed below by system organ class and frequency. Frequencies are defined as: very common (>1/10), common (>1/100 and <1/10), uncommon (>1/1000 and <1/100), rare (>1/10,000 and <1/1000) and very rare (<1/10,000) including isolated reports and not known (cannot be estimated from the available data). Very common, common and uncommon events were generally determined from clinical trial data. Rare and very rare events were generally determined from spontaneous data. In assigning adverse event frequencies, the background rates in placebo groups were not taken into account.

As with other nasal sprays, unpleasant taste and smell and headache have been reported.

As with other nasal sprays, dryness and irritation of the nose and throat, and epistaxis have been reported. Nasal septal perforation has also been reported following the use of intranasal corticosteroids.

Systemic effects of some nasal corticosteroids may occur, particularly when prescribed at high doses for prolonged periods.

Reporting of suspected adverse reactions

Reporting suspected adverse reactions after authorisation of the medicinal product is important. It allows continued monitoring of the benefit/risk balance of the medicinal product. Healthcare professionals are asked to report any suspected adverse reactions via the Yellow Card Scheme at: www.mhra.gov.uk/yellowcard or search for MHRA Yellow Card in Google Play or Apple App Store.

There are no data from patients available on the effects of acute or chronic overdosage with Avamys Aqueous Nasal Spray. Intranasal administration of 2 mg fluticasone propionate twice daily for seven days to healthy human volunteers has no effect on hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis function.

Inhalation or oral administration of high doses of corticosteroids over a long period may lead to suppression of HPA axis function.

Treatment

Administration of doses higher than those recommended over a long period of time may lead to temporary suppression of adrenal function.

In these patients, treatment with fluticasone propionate should be continued at a dose sufficient to control.

Pharmacotherapeutic group: Decongestants and other nasal preparations for topical use Corticosteroids.

ATC Code: R01AD08

Fluticasone propionate causes little or no hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis suppression following intranasal administration.

Following intranasal dosing of fluticasone propionate, (200mcg/day) no significant change in 24h serum cortisol AUC was found compared to placebo (ratio1.01, 90%CI 0.9-1.14).

In a 1-year randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel group growth study in pre-pubescent children aged 3 to 9 years (56 patients receiving intranasal fluticasone propionate and 52 receiving placebo,) no statistically significant difference in growth velocity was observed in patients receiving intranasal fluticasone propionate (200 micrograms per day nasal spray) compared to placebo. The estimated growth velocity over one year of treatment was 6.20 cm/year (SE=0.23) in the placebo group and 5.99 cm/year (SE=0.23) in the fluticasone propionate group; the mean difference between treatments in growth velocity after one year was 0.20 cm/year (SE=0.28, 95% CI= -0.35, 0.76). No evidence of clinically relevant changes in HPA axis function or bone mineral density was observed as assessed by 12-hour urinary cortisol excretion and dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, respectively.

Absorption: Following intranasal dosing of fluticasone propionate, (200mcg/day) steady-state maximum plasma concentrations were not quantifiable in most subjects (<0.01ng/mL). The highest Cmax observed was 0.017ng/mL. Direct absorption in the nose is negligible due to the low aqueous solubility with the majority of the dose being eventually swallowed. When administered orally the systemic exposure is <1% due to poor absorption and pre-systemic metabolism. The total systemic absorption arising from both nasal and oral absorption of the swallowed dose is therefore negligible.

Distribution: Fluticasone propionate has a large volume of distribution at steady-state (approximately 318L). Plasma protein binding is moderately high (91%).

Metabolism: Fluticasone propionate is cleared rapidly from the systemic circulation, principally by hepatic metabolism to an inactive carboxylic acid metabolite, by the cytochrome P450 enzyme CYP3A4. Swallowed fluticasone propionate is also subject to extensive first pass metabolism. Care should be taken when co-administering potent CYP3A4 inhibitors such as ketoconazole and ritonavir as there is potential for increased systemic exposure to fluticasone propionate.

Elimination: The elimination rate of intravenous administered fluticasone propionate is linear over the 250-1000mcg dose range and are characterized by a high plasma clearance (CL=1.1L/min). Peak plasma concentrations are reduced by approximately 98% within 3-4 hours and only low plasma concentrations were associated with the 7.8h terminal half-life. The renal clearance of fluticasone propionate is negligible (<0.2%) and less than 5% as the carboxylic acid metabolite. The major route of elimination is the excretion of fluticasone propionate and its metabolites in the bile.

There are no preclinical data of relevance to the prescriber which are additional to that already included in other sections of the SPC.

None reported.

Shake gently before use.