| Clinical trial dataAdverse reactions for each treatment regimen are presented below by system organ class and absolute frequency. For dose-related adverse reactions the frequency category reflects the higher dose of rosiglitazone. Frequency categories do not account for other factors including varying study duration, pre-existing conditions and baseline patient characteristics. Adverse reaction frequency categories assigned based on clinical trial experience may not reflect the frequency of adverse events occurring during normal clinical practice. Frequencies are defined as: very common 1/10; common 1/100, < 1/10; and uncommon 1/1000, < 1/100.Table 1 lists adverse reactions identified from an integrated clinical trial population of over 5,000 rosiglitazone-treated patients. Within each system organ class, adverse reactions are presented in the table by decreasing frequency for the rosiglitazone monotherapy treatment regimen. Within each frequency grouping, adverse reactions are presented in order of decreasing seriousness. Table 1. The frequency of adverse reactions identified from clinical trial data Adverse reaction | Frequency of adverse reaction by treatment regimen | | | RSG | RSG + MET | RSG + SU | RSG +MET +SU | | | Blood and the lymphatic system disorders | anaemia | Common | Common | Common | Common | leucopaenia | | | Common | | thrombocytopaenia | | | Common | | granulocytopaenia | | | | Common | | | Metabolism and nutrition disorders | hypercholesterolaemia1 | Common | Common | Common | Common | hypertriglyceridaemia | Common | | Common | | hyperlipaemia | Common | Common | Common | Common | weight increase | Common | Common | Common | Common | increased appetite | Common | | Uncommon | | hypoglycaemia | | Common | Very common | Very common | | Nervous system disorders | dizziness* | | Common | Common | | headache* | | | | Common | | Cardiac disorders | cardiac failure2 | | | Common | Common | cardiac ischaemia3 * | Common | Common | Common | Common | | Gastrointestinal disorders | constipation | Common | Common | Common | Common | | Musculoskeletal and connective tissue disorders | bone fractures4 | Common | | | | myalgia* | | | | Common | | | General disorders and administration site conditions | oedema | Common | Common | Very common | Very common | RSG - Rosiglitazone monotherapy; RSG + MET - Rosiglitazone with metformin; RSG + SU - Rosiglitazone with sulphonylurea; RSG + MET + SU - Rosiglitazone with metformin and sulphonylurea*The frequency category for the background incidence of these events, as taken from placebo group data from clinical trials, is 'common'.1 Hypercholesterolaemia was reported in up to 5.3% of patients treated with rosiglitazone (monotherapy, dual or triple oral therapy). The elevated total cholesterol levels were associated with increase in both LDLc and HDLc, but the ratio of total cholesterol:HDLc was unchanged or improved in long term studies. Overall, these increases were generally mild to moderate and usually did not require discontinuation of treatment.2 An increased incidence of heart failure has been observed when rosiglitazone was added to treatment regimens with a sulphonylurea (either as dual or triple therapy), and appeared higher with 8 mg rosiglitazone compared to 4 mg rosiglitazone (total daily dose). The incidence of heart failure on triple oral therapy was 1.4% in the main double blind study, compared to 0.4% for metformin plus sulphonylurea dual therapy. The incidence of heart failure in combination with insulin (rosiglitazone added to established insulin therapy) was 2.4%, compared to insulin alone, 1.1%. Moreover in patients with congestive heart failure NYHA class I-II, a placebo-controlled one-year trial demonstrated worsening or possible worsening of heart failure in 6.4% of patients treated with rosiglitazone, compared with 3.5% on placebo.3In a retrospective analysis of data from 42 pooled short-term clinical studies, the overall incidence of events typically associated with cardiac ischaemia was higher for rosiglitazone containing regimens, 2.00% versus combined active and placebo comparators, 1.53% [Hazard ratio 1.30 (95% confidence interval 1.004 - 1.69)]. This risk was increased when rosiglitazone was added to established insulin and in patients receiving nitrates for known ischaemic heart disease. In a large observational study where patients were well-matched at baseline, the incidence of the composite endpoint myocardial infarction and coronary revascularization was 17.46 events per 1000 person years for rosiglitazone containing regimens and 17.57 events per 1000 person years for other anti-diabetic agents [Hazard ratio 0.93 (95% confidence interval 0.80 - 1.10)]. Three large long-term prospective randomised controlled clinical trials (mean duration 41 months; 14,067 patients), comparing rosiglitazone to some other approved oral antidiabetic agents or placebo, have not confirmed or excluded this risk. In their entirety, the available data on the risk of myocardial ischaemia are inconclusive.4 In a long-term randomised (4 to 6 year) monotherapy study in recently diagnosed patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, an increased incidence of bone fractures was noted after the first year of treatment in female patients taking rosiglitazone (9.3%, 2.7 patients per 100 patient years) vs metformin (5.1%, 1.5 patients per 100 patient years) or glyburide/glibenclamide (3.5%, 1.3 patients per 100 patient years). This increased risk remained during the course of the study. The majority of the fractures in the females who received rosiglitazone were reported in the foot, hand and arm.In double-blind clinical trials with rosiglitazone the incidence of elevations of ALT greater than three times the upper limit of normal was equal to placebo (0.2%) and less than that of the active comparators (0.5% metformin/sulphonylureas). The incidence of all adverse events relating to liver and biliary systems was < 1.5% in any treatment group and similar to placebo. Post-marketing dataIn addition to the adverse reactions identified from clinical trial data, the adverse reactions presented in Table 2 have been identified in post approval use of rosiglitazone. Frequencies are defined as: rare 1/10,000, <1/1000 and very rare <1/10,000 including isolated reports.Table 2. The frequency of adverse reactions identified from post-marketing data Adverse reaction | Frequency | | Metabolism and nutrition disorders | rapid and excessive weight gain | Very rare | | Immune system disorders
(see Skin and subcutaneous tissue disorders) | anaphylactic reaction | Very rare | | Eye disorders | macular oedema | Rare | | Cardiac disorders | congestive heart failure/pulmonary oedema | Rare | | Hepatobiliary disorders | hepatic dysfunction, primarily evidenced by elevated hepatic enzymes5 | Rare | | Skin and subcutaneous tissue disorders
(see Immune system disorders) | angioedema | Very rare | skin reactions (e.g. urticaria, pruritus, rash) | Very rare | 5 Rare cases of elevated liver enzymes and hepatocellular dysfunction have been reported. In very rare cases a fatal outcome has been reported. | |