WARNINGS
Reye's Syndrome may develop in individuals who have chicken pox, influenza, or flu symptoms. Some studies suggest a possible association between the development of Reye's Syndrome and the use of medicines containing salicylate or aspirin. DISALCID (salsalate) contains a salicylate and therefore is not recommended for use in patients with chicken pox, influenza, or flu symptoms.
PRECAUTIONS
General
Patients on treatment with DISALCID (salsalate) should be warned not to take other salicylates so as to avoid potentially toxic concentrations. Great care should be exercised when DISALCID (salsalate) is prescribed in the presence of chronic renal insufficiency or peptic ulcer disease. Protein binding of salicylic acid can be influenced by nutritional status, competitive binding of other drugs, and fluctuations in serum proteins caused by disease (rheumatoid arthritis, etc.).
Although cross reactivity, induding bronchospasm, has been reported occasionally with non- acetylated salicylates, including salsalate, in aspirin-sensitive patients,8,9 salsalate is less likely than aspirin to induce asthma in such patients.10
Laboratory Tests
Plasma salicylic acid concentrations should be periodically monitored during longterm treatment with DISALCID (salsalate) to aid maintenance of therapeutically effective levels: 10 to 30 mg/100 ml. Toxic manifestations are not usually seen until plasma concentrations exceed 30 mg/l00 ml (see OVERDOSAGE). Urinary pH should also be regularly monitored: sudden acidification, as from pH 6.5 to 5.5, can double the plasma level, resulting in toxicity.
Carcinogenesis
No long-term animal studies have been performed with DISALCID (salsalate) to evaluate its carcinogenic potential.
Use in Pregnancy
Pregnancy Category C: Salsalate and salicylic acid have been shown to be teratogenic and embryocidal in rats when given in doses 4 to 5 times the usual human dose. The effects were not observed at doses twice as great as the usual human dose. There are no adequate and well-controlled studies in pregnant women. DISALCID (salsalate) should be used during pregnancy only if the potential benefit justifies the potential risk to the fetus.
Labor and Delivery
There exist no adequate and well-controlled studies in pregnant women. Although adverse effects on mother or infant have not been reported with DISALCID (salsalate) use during labor, caution is advised when anti-inflammatory dosage is involved. However, other salicylates have been associated with prolonged gestation and labor, maternal and neonatal bleeding sequelae, potentiation of narcotic and barbiturate effects (respiratory or cardiac arrest in the mother), delivery problems and stillbirth.
Nursing Mothers
It is not known whether salsalate per se is excreted in human milk; salicylic acid, the primary metabolite of DISALCID (salsalate) , has been shown to appear in human milk in concentrations approximating the maternal blood level. Thus, the infant of a mother on DISALCID (salsalate) therapy might ingest in mother†s milk 30 to 80% as much salicylate per kg body weight as the mother is taking. Accordingly, caution should be exercised when DISALCID (salsalate) is administered to a nursing woman.
Pediatric Use
Safety and effectiveness in pediatric patients have not been established. (See WARNINGS)