Fluoxetine (fluoxetine hydrochloride 40 mg) Dailymed

6 Adverse Reactions

The following adverse reactions are discussed in more detail in other sections of the labeling:

• Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors in Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults [see Boxed Warning and Warnings and Precautions (5.1)]
• Serotonin Syndrome [see Warnings and Precautions (5.2)]
• Allergic Reactions and Rash [see Warnings and Precautions (5.3)]
• Screening Patients for Bipolar Disorder and Monitoring for Mania/Hypomania [see Warnings and Precautions (5.4)]
• Seizures [see Warnings and Precautions (5.5)]
• Altered Appetite and Weight [see Warnings and Precautions (5.6)]
• Abnormal Bleeding [see Warnings and Precautions (5.7)]
• Angle-Closure Glaucoma [see Warnings and Precautions (5.8)]
• Hyponatremia [see Warnings and Precautions (5.9)]
• Anxiety and Insomnia [see Warnings and Precautions (5.10)]
• QT Prolongation [see Warnings and Precautions (5.11)]
• Potential for Cognitive and Motor Impairment [see Warnings and Precautions (5.13)]
• Discontinuation Adverse Reactions [see Warnings and Precautions (5.15)]

When using fluoxetine and olanzapine in combination, also refer to the Adverse Reactions section of the package insert for Symbyax.


Most common adverse reactions (≥5% and at least twice that for placebo) associated with:

Major Depressive Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Bulimia, and Panic Disorder: abnormal dreams, abnormal ejaculation, anorexia, anxiety, asthenia, diarrhea, dry mouth, dyspepsia, flu syndrome, impotence, insomnia, libido decreased, nausea, nervousness, pharyngitis, rash, sinusitis, somnolence, sweating, tremor, vasodilatation, and yawn (6.1)

Fluoxetine and olanzapine in combination – Also refer to the Adverse Reactions section of the package insert for Symbyax (6)

To report SUSPECTED ADVERSE REACTIONS, contact Aurobindo Pharma USA, Inc. at 1-866-850-2876 or FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or www.fda.gov/medwatch

6.1 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 or predict the rates observed in practice.

Multiple doses of fluoxetine have been administered to 10,782 patients with various diagnoses in U.S. clinical trials. In addition, there have been 425 patients administered fluoxetine in panic clinical trials. The stated frequencies represent the proportion of individuals who experienced, at least once, a treatment-emergent adverse reaction of the type uled. A reaction was considered treatment-emergent if it occurred for the first time or worsened while receiving therapy following baseline evaluation.

Incidence in Major Depressive Disorder, OCD, bulimia, and Panic Disorder placebo-controlled clinical trials (excluding data from extensions of trials) – Table 3 enumerates the most common treatment-emergent adverse reactions associated with the use of fluoxetine (incidence of at least 5% for fluoxetine and at least twice that for placebo within at least 1 of the indications) for the treatment of Major Depressive Disorder, OCD, and bulimia in U.S. controlled clinical trials and Panic Disorder in U.S. plus non-U.S. controlled trials. Table 5 enumerates treatment-emergent adverse reactions that occurred in 2% or more patients treated with fluoxetine and with incidence greater than placebo who participated in U.S. Major Depressive Disorder, OCD, and bulimia controlled clinical trials and U.S. plus non-U.S. Panic Disorder controlled clinical trials. Table 4 provides combined data for the pool of studies that are provided separately by indication in Table 3.

Table 3: Most Common Treatment-Emergent Adverse Reactions: Incidence in Major Depressive Disorder, OCD, Bulimia, and Panic Disorder Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trials Incidence less than 1%. ^, Includes U.S. data for Major Depressive Disorder, OCD, Bulimia, and Panic Disorder clinical trials, plus non-U.S. data for Panic Disorder clinical trials.

	Percentage of Patients Reporting Event
	Major Depressive Disorder		OCD		Bulimia		Panic Disorder
Body System/ Adverse Reaction	Fluoxetine (N=1728)	Placebo (N=975)	Fluoxetine (N=266)	Placebo (N=89)	Fluoxetine (N=450)	Placebo (N=267)	Fluoxetine (N=425)	Placebo (N=342)
Body as a Whole
Asthenia	9	5	15	11	21	9	7	7
Flu syndrome	3	4	10	7	8	3	5	5
Cardiovascular System
Vasodilatation	3	2	5	--	2	1	1	--
Digestive System
Nausea	21	9	26	13	29	11	12	7
Diarrhea	12	8	18	13	8	6	9	4
Anorexia	11	2	17	10	8	4	4	1
Dry mouth	10	7	12	3	9	6	4	4
Dyspepsia	7	5	10	4	10	6	6	2
Nervous System
Insomnia	16	9	28	22	33	13	10	7
Anxiety	12	7	14	7	15	9	6	2
Nervousness	14	9	14	15	11	5	8	6
Somnolence	13	6	17	7	13	5	5	2
Tremor	10	3	9	1	13	1	3	1
Libido decreased	3	--	11	2	5	1	1	2
Abnormal dreams	1	1	5	2	5	3	1	1
Respiratory System
Pharyngitis	3	3	11	9	10	5	3	3
Sinusitis	1	4	5	2	6	4	2	3
Yawn	--	--	7	--	11	--	1	--
Skin and Appendages
Sweating	8	3	7	--	8	3	2	2
Rash	4	3	6	3	4	4	2	2
Urogenital System
Impotence Denominator used was for males only (N=690 fluoxetine Major Depressive Disorder; N=410 placebo Major Depressive Disorder; N=116 fluoxetine OCD; N=43 placebo OCD; N=14 fluoxetine bulimia; N=1 placebo bulimia; N=162 fluoxetine panic; N=121 placebo panic).	2	--	--	--	7	--	1	--
Abnormal ejaculation	--	--	7	--	7	--	2	1

Table 4: Treatment-Emergent Adverse Reactions: Incidence in Major Depressive Disorder, OCD, Bulimia, and Panic Disorder Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trials Incidence less than 1%. ^, Includes U.S. data for Major Depressive Disorder, OCD, Bulimia, and Panic Disorder clinical trials, plus non-U.S. data for Panic Disorder clinical trials.

	Percentage of Patients Reporting Event
	Major Depressive Disorder, OCD, Bulimia, and Panic Disorder Combined
Body System/ Adverse Reaction	Fluoxetine (N=2869)	Placebo (N=1673)
Body as a Whole
Headache	21	19
Asthenia	11	6
Flu syndrome	5	4
Fever	2	1
Cardiovascular System
Vasodilatation	2	1
Digestive System
Nausea	22	9
Diarrhea	11	7
Anorexia	10	3
Dry mouth	9	6
Dyspepsia	8	4
Constipation	5	4
Flatulence	3	2
Vomiting	3	2
Metabolic and Nutritional Disorders
Weight loss	2	1
Nervous System
Insomnia	19	10
Nervousness	13	8
Anxiety	12	6
Somnolence	12	5
Dizziness	9	6
Tremor	9	2
Libido decreased	4	1
Thinking abnormal	2	1
Respiratory System
Yawn	3	--
Skin and Appendages
Sweating	7	3
Rash	4	3
Pruritus	3	2
Special Senses
Abnormal vision	2	1

Associated with discontinuation in Major Depressive Disorder, OCD, bulimia, and Panic Disorder placebo-controlled clinical trials (excluding data from extensions of trials) – Table 5 uls the adverse reactions associated with discontinuation of fluoxetine treatment (incidence at least twice that for placebo and at least 1% for fluoxetine in clinical trials collecting only a primary reaction associated with discontinuation) in Major Depressive Disorder, OCD, bulimia, and Panic Disorder clinical trials, plus non-U.S. Panic Disorder clinical trials.

Table 5: Most Common Adverse Reactions Associated with Discontinuation in Major Depressive Disorder, OCD, Bulimia, and Panic Disorder Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trials Includes U.S. Major Depressive Disorder, OCD, Bulimia, and Panic Disorder clinical trials, plus non-U.S. Panic Disorder clinical trials.

Major Depressive Disorder, OCD, Bulimia, and Panic Disorder Combined (N=1533)	Major Depressive Disorder (N=392)	OCD (N=266)	Bulimia (N=450)	Panic Disorder (N=425)
Anxiety (1%)	--	Anxiety (2%)	--	Anxiety (2%)
--	--	--	Insomnia (2%)	--
--	Nervousness (1%)	--	--	Nervousness (1%)
--	--	Rash (1%)	--	--

Other adverse reactions in pediatric patients (children and adolescents) – Treatment-emergent adverse reactions were collected in 322 pediatric patients (180 fluoxetine-treated, 142 placebo-treated). The overall profile of adverse reactions was generally similar to that seen in adult studies, as shown in Tables 4 and 5. However, the following adverse reactions (excluding those which appear in the body or footnotes of Tables 4 and 5 and those for which the COSTART terms were uninformative or misleading) were reported at an incidence of at least 2% for fluoxetine and greater than placebo: thirst, hyperkinesia, agitation, personality disorder, epistaxis, urinary frequency, and menorrhagia.

The most common adverse reaction (incidence at least 1% for fluoxetine and greater than placebo) associated with discontinuation in 3 pediatric placebo-controlled trials (N=418 randomized; 228 fluoxetine-treated; 190 placebo-treated) was mania/hypomania (1.8% for fluoxetine-treated, 0% for placebo-treated). In these clinical trials, only a primary reaction associated with discontinuation was collected.

Male and female sexual dysfunction with SSRIs – Although changes in sexual desire, sexual performance, and sexual satisfaction often occur as manifestations of a psychiatric disorder, they may also be a consequence of pharmacologic treatment. In particular, some evidence suggests that SSRIs can cause such untoward sexual experiences. Reliable estimates of the incidence and severity of untoward experiences involving sexual desire, performance, and satisfaction are difficult to obtain, however, in part because patients and physicians may be reluctant to discuss them. Accordingly, estimates of the incidence of untoward sexual experience and performance, cited in product labeling, are likely to underestimate their actual incidence. In patients enrolled in U.S. Major Depressive Disorder, OCD, and bulimia placebo-controlled clinical trials, decreased libido was the only sexual side effect reported by at least 2% of patients taking fluoxetine (4% fluoxetine, <1% placebo). There have been spontaneous reports in women taking fluoxetine of orgasmic dysfunction, including anorgasmia.

There are no adequate and well-controlled studies examining sexual dysfunction with fluoxetine treatment.

Symptoms of sexual dysfunction occasionally persist after discontinuation of fluoxetine treatment.

Priapism has been reported with all SSRIs.

While it is difficult to know the precise risk of sexual dysfunction associated with the use of SSRIs, physicians should routinely inquire about such possible side effects.

6.2 Other Reactions

Following is a ul of treatment-emergent adverse reactions reported by patients treated with fluoxetine in clinical trials. This uling is not intended to include reactions (1) already uled in previous tables or elsewhere in labeling, (2) for which a drug cause was remote, (3) which were so general as to be uninformative, (4) which were not considered to have significant clinical implications, or (5) which occurred at a rate equal to or less than placebo.

Reactions are classified by body system using the following definitions: frequent adverse reactions are those occurring in at least 1/100 patients; infrequent adverse reactions are those occurring in 1/100 to 1/1000 patients; rare reactions are those occurring in fewer than 1/1000 patients.

Body as a Whole – Frequent: chills; Infrequent: suicide attempt; Rare: acute abdominal syndrome, photosensitivity reaction.

Cardiovascular System – Frequent: palpitation; Infrequent: arrhythmia, hypotension ¹.

Digestive System – Infrequent: dysphagia, gastritis, gastroenteritis, melena, stomach ulcer; Rare: bloody diarrhea, duodenal ulcer, esophageal ulcer, gastrointestinal hemorrhage, hematemesis, hepatitis, peptic ulcer, stomach ulcer hemorrhage.

Hemic and Lymphatic System – Infrequent: ecchymosis; Rare: petechia, purpura.

Investigations – Frequent: QT interval prolongation (QT _cF ≥450 msec) ³.

Nervous System – Frequent: emotional lability; Infrequent: akathisia, ataxia, balance disorder ¹, bruxism ¹, buccoglossal syndrome, depersonalization, euphoria, hypertonia, libido increased, myoclonus, paranoid reaction; Rare: delusions.

Respiratory System – Rare: larynx edema.

Skin and Appendages – Infrequent: alopecia; Rare: purpuric rash.

Special Senses – Frequent: taste perversion; Infrequent: mydriasis.

Urogenital System – Frequent: micturition disorder; Infrequent: dysuria, gynecological bleeding ².

• MedDRA dictionary term from integrated database of placebo controlled trials of 15870 patients, of which 9673 patients received fluoxetine.
• Group term that includes individual MedDRA terms: cervix hemorrhage uterine, dysfunctional uterine bleeding, genital hemorrhage, menometrorrhagia, menorrhagia, metrorrhagia, polymenorrhea, postmenopausal hemorrhage, uterine hemorrhage, vaginal hemorrhage. Adjusted for gender.
• QT prolongation data are based on routine ECG measurements in clinical trials.

6.3 Postmarketing Experience

The following adverse reactions have been identified during post approval use of fluoxetine. Because these reactions are reported voluntarily from a population of uncertain size, it is difficult to reliably estimate their frequency or evaluate a causal relationship to drug exposure.

Voluntary reports of adverse reactions temporally associated with fluoxetine that have been received since market introduction and that may have no causal relationship with the drug include the following: aplastic anemia, atrial fibrillation ¹, cataract, cerebrovascular accident ¹, cholestatic jaundice, dyskinesia (including, for example, a case of buccal-lingual-masticatory syndrome with involuntary tongue protrusion reported to develop in a 77-year-old female after 5 weeks of fluoxetine therapy and which completely resolved over the next few months following drug discontinuation), eosinophilic pneumonia ¹, epidermal necrolysis, erythema multiforme, erythema nodosum, exfoliative dermatitis, galactorrhea, gynecomastia, heart arrest ¹, hepatic failure/necrosis, hyperprolactinemia, hypoglycemia, immune-related hemolytic anemia, kidney failure, memory impairment, movement disorders developing in patients with risk factors including drugs associated with such reactions and worsening of pre-existing movement disorders, optic neuritis, pancreatitis ¹, pancytopenia, pulmonary embolism, pulmonary hypertension, QT prolongation, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, thrombocytopenia ¹, thrombocytopenic purpura, ventricular tachycardia (including Torsades de Pointes–type arrhythmias), vaginal bleeding, and violent behaviors ¹.

• These terms represent serious adverse events, but do not meet the definition for adverse drug reactions. They are included here because of their seriousness.