Entocort

What Is Entocort EC?

Entocort EC (budesonide) is a steroid used to treat mild to moderate Crohn's disease. Entocort EC is available in generic form.

What Are Side Effects of Entocort EC?

Common side effects of Entocort EC include:

• nausea,
• heartburn,
• stomach pain,
• indigestion,
• headache,
• thinning of the skin,
• easy bruising,
• runny or stuffy nose,
• cough,
• sore throat,
• muscle pain,
• skin rash, or
• changes in your menstrual periods.

Tell your doctor if you have rare but serious side effects of Entocort EC including:

• unusual tiredness,
• vision problems,
• easy bruising or bleeding,
• puffy face,
• unusual hair growth,
• mental/mood changes (such as depression, mood swings, agitation), or
• slow wound healing.

Dosage for Entocort EC

The recommended adult dosage of Entocort EC for the treatment of mild to moderate active Crohn's disease involving the ileum and/or the ascending colon is 9 mg orally taken once daily in the morning for up to 8 weeks. Following an 8 week course(s) of treatment and once the patient's symptoms are controlled 6 mg orally is recommended once daily for maintenance of clinical remission up to 3 months.

What Drugs, Substances, or Supplements Interact with Entocort EC?

Entocort EC may interact with ketoconazole (Nizoral). Other drugs may interact with Entocort EC. Tell your doctor all prescription and over-the-counter medications and supplements you use.

Entocort EC During Pregnancy and Breastfeeding

During pregnancy, Entocort EC should be used only when prescribed. Infants born to mothers who have used corticosteroids for a long time may have hormone problems. Tell your doctor if you notice persistent nausea/vomiting, severe diarrhea, or weakness. This drug passes into breast milk and may have undesirable effects in a nursing infant. Consult your doctor before breastfeeding.

Additional Information

Our Entocort EC (budesonide) Side Effects Drug Center provides a comprehensive view of available drug information on the potential side effects when taking this medication.

 

Entocort Consumer Information

Get emergency medical help if you have signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficulty breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.

Call your doctor at once if you have:

• thinning skin, easy bruising, increased acne or facial hair;
• swelling in your ankles;
• weakness, tiredness, or a light-headed feeling, like you might pass out;
• nausea, vomiting, rectal bleeding;
• pain or burning when you urinate;
• menstrual problems (in women), impotence or loss of interest in sex (in men); or
• signs of too much steroid medicine in your blood--acne, bruising, thinning skin, increased facial or body hair, stretch marks, increased body fat, or changes in the shape or location of body fat (especially in your face, neck, back, and waist).

Common side effects may include:

• headache, dizziness;
• indigestion, nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, bloating, gas, constipation;
• feeling tired;
• back pain, joint pain;
• painful urination;
• cold symptoms such as stuffy nose, sneezing, sore throat;
• pain anywhere in your body; or
• signs of too much steroid medicine in your blood.

This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

Read the entire detailed patient monograph for Entocort (Budesonide)

 

Entocort Professional Information

SIDE EFFECTS

The following clinically significant adverse reactions are described elsewhere in labeling:

• Hypercorticism and adrenal axis suppression [see WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS]
• Symptoms of steroid withdrawal in those patients transferred from other systemic corticosteroids [see WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS]
• Increased risk of infection [see WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS]
• Other corticosteroid effects [see WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS]

Clinical Trials Experience

Because clinical trials are conducted under widely varying conditions, adverse reaction rates observed in the clinical trials of a drug cannot be directly compared to rates in the clinical trials of another drug and may not reflect the rates observed in practice.

Adults

The data described below reflect exposure to ENTOCORT EC in 520 patients with Crohn's disease, including 520 exposed to 9 mg per day (total daily dose) for 8 weeks and 145 exposed to 6 mg per day for one year in placebo controlled clinical trials. Of the 520 patients, 38% were males and the age range was 17 to 74 years.

Treatment Of Mild To Moderate Active Crohn's Disease

The safety of ENTOCORT EC was evaluated in 651 adult patients in five clinical trials of 8 weeks duration in patients with active mild to moderate Crohn's disease. The most common adverse reactions, occurring in greater than or equal to 5% of the patients, are listed in Table 1.

Table 1 : Common Adverse Reactions¹ in 8-Week Treatment Clinical Trials

Adverse Reaction	ENTOCORT EC 9 mg n=520 Number (%)	Placebo n=107 Number (%)	Prednisolone2 40 mg n=145 Number (%)	Comparator3 n=88 Number (%)
Headache	107 (21)	19 (18)	31 (21)	11(13)
Respiratory Infection	55 (11)	7 (7)	20 (14)	5 (6)
Nausea	57 (11)	10 (9)	18(12)	7 (8)
Back Pain	36 (7)	10 (9)	17(12)	5 (6)
Dyspepsia	31 (6)	4 (4)	17 (12)	3 (3)
Dizziness	38 (7)	5 (5)	18(12)	5 (6)
Abdominal Pain	32 (6)	18 (17)	6 (4)	10 (11)
Flatulence	30 (6)	6 (6)	12 (8)	5 (6)
Vomiting	29 (6)	6 (6)	6 (4)	6 (7)
Fatigue	25 (5)	8 (7)	11 (8)	0 (0)
Pain	24 (5)	8 (7)	17 (12)	2 (2)
1Occurring in greater than or equal to 5% of the patients in any treated group. 2Prednisolone tapering scheme: either 40 mg in week 1 to 2, thereafter tapering with 5 mg per week; or 40 mg in week 1 to 2, 30 mg in week 3 to 4, thereafter tapering with 5 mg per week. 3This drug is not approved for the treatment of Crohn's disease in the United States.

The incidence of signs and symptoms of hypercorticism reported by active questioning of patients in 4 of the 5 short-term clinical trials are displayed in Table 2.

Table 2: Summary and Incidence of Signs/Symptoms of Hypercorticism in 8-Week Treatment Clinical Trials

Signs/ Symptom	ENTOCORT EC 9 mg n=427 Number (%)	Placebo n=107 Number (%)	Prednisolone1 40 mg n=145 Number (%)
Total	145 (34%)	29 (27%)	69 (48%)
Acne	63 (15)	14 (13)	33 (23)2
Bruising Easily	63 (15)	12 (11)	13 (9)
Moon Face	46 (11)	4 (4)	53 (37) 2
Swollen Ankles	32 (7)	6 (6)	13 (9)
Hirsutism3	22 (5)	2 (2)	5 (3)
Buffalo Hump	6 (1)	2 (2)	5 (3)
Skin Striae	4 (1)	2 (2)	0 (0)
1Prednisolone tapering scheme: either 40 mg in week 1-2, thereafter tapering with 5 mg/week; or 40 mg in week 1 to 2, 30 mg in week 3 to 4, thereafter tapering with 5 mg/week. 2Statistically significantly different from ENTOCORT EC 9 mg 3including hair growth increased, local and hair growth increased, general

Maintenance Of Clinical Remission Of Mild To Moderate Crohn's Disease

The safety of ENTOCORT EC was evaluated in 233 adult patients in four long-term clinical trials (52 weeks) of maintenance of clinical remission in patients with mild to moderate Crohn's disease. A total of 145 patients were treated with ENTOCORT EC 6 mg once daily.

The adverse reaction profile of ENTOCORT EC 6 mg once daily in maintenance of Crohn's disease was similar to that of short-term treatment with ENTOCORT EC 9 mg once daily in active Crohn's disease. In the long-term clinical trials, the following adverse reactions occurred in greater than or equal to 5% and are not listed in Table 1: diarrhea (10%); sinusitis (8%); infection viral (6%); and arthralgia (5%).

Signs/symptoms of hypercorticism reported by active questioning of patients in the long-term maintenance clinical trials are displayed in Table 3.

Table 3: Summary and Incidence of Signs/Symptoms of Hypercorticism in Long-Term Clinical Trials

Signs/ Symptom	ENTOCORT EC 3 mg n=88 Number (%)	ENTOCORT EC 6 mg n=145 Number (%)	Placebo n=143 Number (%)
Bruising Easily	4(5)	15(10)	5(4)
Acne	4(5)	14(10)	3(2)
Moon Face	3(3)	6(4)	0
Hirsutism	2(2)	5(3)	1(1)
Swollen Ankles	2(2)	3(2)	3(2)
Buffalo Hump	1(1)	1(1)	0
Skin Striae	2(2)	0	0

The incidence of signs/symptoms of hypercorticism as described above in long-term maintenance clinical trials was similar to that seen in the short-term treatment clinical trials.

Less Common Adverse Reactions In Treatment And Maintenance Clinical Trials

Less common adverse reactions (less than 5%), occurring in adult patients treated with ENTOCORT EC 9 mg (total daily dose) in short-term treatment clinical studies and/or ENTOCORT EC 6 mg (total daily dose) in long-term maintenance clinical trials, with an incidence are listed below by system organ class:

Cardiac disorders: palpitation, tachycardia

Eye disorders: eye abnormality, vision abnormal

General disorders and administration site conditions: asthenia, chest pain, dependent edema, face edema, flu-like disorder, malaise, fever

Gastrointestinal disorders: anus disorder, enteritis, epigastric pain, gastrointestinal fistula, glossitis, hemorrhoids, intestinal obstruction, tongue edema, tooth disorder

Infections and infestations: Ear infection -not otherwise specified, bronchitis, abscess, rhinitis, urinary tract infection, thrush

Investigations: weight increased

Metabolism and nutrition disorders: appetite increased

Musculoskeletal and connective tissue disorders: arthritis, cramps, myalgia

Nervous system disorders: hyperkinesia, paresthesia, tremor, vertigo, somnolence, amnesia

Psychiatric disorders: agitation, confusion, insomnia, nervousness, sleep disorder

Renal and urinary disorders: dysuria, micturition frequency, nocturia

Reproductive system and breast disorders: intermenstrual bleeding, menstrual disorder

Respiratory, thoracic and mediastinal disorders: dyspnea, pharynx disorder

Skin and subcutaneous tissue disorders: alopecia, dermatitis, eczema, skin disorder, sweating increased, purpura

Vascular disorders: flushing, hypertension

Bone Mineral Density

A randomized, open, parallel-group multicenter safety clinical trial specifically compared the effect of ENTOCORT EC (less than 9 mg per day) and prednisolone (less than 40 mg per day) on bone mineral density over 2 years when used at doses adjusted to disease severity. Bone mineral density decreased significantly less with ENTOCORT EC than with prednisolone in steroid-naive patients, whereas no difference could be detected between treatment groups for steroid-dependent patients and previous steroid users. The incidence of symptoms associated with hypercorticism was significantly higher with prednisolone treatment.

Clinical Laboratory Test Findings

The following potentially clinically significant laboratory changes in clinical trials, irrespective of relationship to ENTOCORT EC, were reported in greater than or equal to 1% of patients: hypokalemia, leukocytosis, anemia, hematuria, pyuria, erythrocyte sedimentation rate increased, alkaline phosphatase increased, atypical neutrophils, c-reactive protein increased and adrenal insufficiency.

Pediatrics --Treatment Of Mild To Moderate Active Crohn's Disease

Adverse reactions reported in pediatric patients 8 to 17 years of age, who weigh more than 25 kg, were similar to those reactions described above in adult patients.

Postmarketing Experience

The following adverse reactions have been reported during post-approval use of ENTOCORT EC. Because these reactions are reported voluntarily from a population of uncertain size, it is not always possible to reliably estimate their frequency or establish a causal relationship to drug exposure.

Immune System Disorders: Anaphylactic reactions

Nervous System Disorders: Benign intracranial hypertension

Psychiatric Disorders: Mood swings

Read the entire FDA prescribing information for Entocort (Budesonide)