WARNINGS
Included as part of the PRECAUTIONS section.
PRECAUTIONS
Colitis
Systemic absorption of clindamycin has been demonstrated following topical use. Diarrhea, bloody diarrhea, and colitis (including pseudomembranous colitis) have been reported with the use of topical clindamycin. If significant diarrhea occurs, VELTIN™ (clindamycin phosphate and tretinoin gel) Gel should be discontinued.
Severe colitis has occurred following oral orparenteral administration of clindamycin with an onset of up to several weeks following cessation of therapy. Antiperistaltic agents such as opiates and diphenoxylate with atropine may prolong and/or worsen severe colitis. Severe colitis may result in death.
Studies indicate a toxin(s) produced by clostridia is one primary cause of
antibiotic-associated colitis. The colitis is usually characterized by severe
persistent diarrhea and severe abdominal cramps and may be associated with the
passage of blood and mucus. Stool cultures for Clostridium difficile
and stool assay for C. difficile toxin may be helpful diagnostically.
Ultraviolet Light and Environmental Exposure
Exposure to sunlight, including sunlamps, should be avoided during the use
of VELTIN (clindamycin phosphate and tretinoin gel) Gel, and patients with sunburn should be advised not to use the product
until fully recovered because of heightened susceptibility to sunlight as a
result of the use of tretinoin. Patients who may be required to have considerable
sun exposure due to occupation and those with inherent sensitivity to the sun
should exercise particular caution. Daily use of sunscreen products and protective
apparel (e.g., a hat) are recommended. Weather extremes, such as wind or cold,
also may be irritating to patients under treatment with VELTIN (clindamycin phosphate and tretinoin gel) Gel.
Patient Counseling Information
[See FDA-approved Patient Labeling].
Instructions for Use
- At bedtime, the face should be gently washed with a mild soap and water.
After patting the skin dry, apply VELTIN (clindamycin phosphate and tretinoin gel) Gel as a thin layer over the entire
affected area (excluding the eyes and lips).
- Patients should be advised not to use more than a pea sized amount to cover
the face and not to apply more often than once daily (at bedtime) as this
will not make for faster results and may increase irritation.
- A sunscreen should be applied every morning and reapplied over the course
of the day as needed. Patients should be advised to avoid exposure to sunlight,
sunlamp, ultraviolet light, and other medicines that may increase sensitivity
to sunlight.
- Other topical products with a strong drying effect, such as abrasive soaps
or cleansers, may cause an increase in skin irritation with VELTIN (clindamycin phosphate and tretinoin gel) Gel.
Skin Irritation
VELTIN (clindamycin phosphate and tretinoin gel) Gel may cause irritation such as erythema, scaling, itching, burning,
or stinging.
Colitis
In the event a patient treated with VELTIN (clindamycin phosphate and tretinoin gel) Gel experiences severe diarrhea
or gastrointestinal discomfort, VELTIN (clindamycin phosphate and tretinoin gel) Gel should be discontinued and a physician
should be contacted.
Nonclinical Toxicology
Carcinogcncsis, Mutagenesis, Impairment of Fertility
Long-term animal studies have not been performed to evaluate the carcinogenic
potential of VELTIN (clindamycin phosphate and tretinoin gel) Gel or the effect of VELTIN (clindamycin phosphate and tretinoin gel) Gel on fertility. VELTIN (clindamycin phosphate and tretinoin gel) Gel
was negative for mutagenic potential when evaluated in an in vitro Ames
Salmonella reversion assay. VELTIN (clindamycin phosphate and tretinoin gel) Gel was equivocal for clastogenic
potential in the absence of metabolic activation when tested in an in vitro
chromosomal aberration assay.
Clindamycin
Once daily dermal administration of 1% clindamycin as clindamycin phosphate
in the VELTIN (clindamycin phosphate and tretinoin gel) Gel vehicle (32 mg/kg/day, 13 times the recommended clinical dose
based on body surface area comparison) to mice for up to 2 years did not produce
evidence of tumorigenicity.
Fertility studies in rats treated orally with up to 300 mg/kg/day of clindamycin (240 times the recommended clinical dose based on body surface area comparison) revealed no effects on fertility or mating ability.
Tretinoin
In two independent mouse studies where tretinoin was administered topically (0.025% or 0.1%) three times per week for up to two years no carcinogenicity was observed, with maximum effects of dermal amyloidosis. However, in a dermal carcinogenicity study in mice, tretinoin applied at a dose of 5.1 ug (1.4 times the recommended clinical dose based on body surface area comparison) three times per week for 20 weeks acted as a weak promoter of skin tumor formation following a single application of dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA).
In a study in female SENCAR mice, papillomas were induced by topical exposure to DMBA followed by promotion with 12-O-tetradecanoyl-phorbol 13-acetate or mezerein for up to 20 weeks. Topical application of tretinoin prior to each application of promoting agent resulted in a reduction in the number of papillomas per mouse. However, papillomas resistant to topical tretinoin suppression were at higher risk for pre-malignant progression.
Tretinoin has been shown to enhance photoco-carcinogenicity in properly performed specific studies, employing concurrent or intercurrent exposure to tretinoin and UV radiation. The photoco-carcinogenic potential of the clindamycin tretinoin combination is unknown. Although the significance of these studies to humans is not clear, patients should avoid exposure to sun.
The genotoxic potential of tretinoin was evaluated in an in vitro Ames
Salmonella reversion test and an in vitro chromosomal aberration
assay in Chinese hamster ovary cells. Both tests were negative.
In oral fertility studies in rats treated with tretinoin, the no-observed-effect-level was 2 mg/kg/day (64 times the recommended clinical dose based on body surface area comparison).
Use In Specific Populations
Pregnancy
Pregnancy Category C. There are no well-controlled studies in pregnant women
treated with VELTIN (clindamycin phosphate and tretinoin gel) Gel. VELTIN (clindamycin phosphate and tretinoin gel) Gel should be used during pregnancy only if
the potential benefit justifies the potential risk to the fetus. A limit teratology
study performed in Sprague Dawley rats treated topically with VELTIN (clindamycin phosphate and tretinoin gel) Gel or
0.025% tretinoin gel at a dose of 2 mL/kg during gestation days 6 to 15 did
not result in teratogenic effects. Although no systemic levels of tretinoin
were detected, craniofacial and heart abnormalities were described in drug-treated
groups. These abnormalities are consistent with retinoid effects and occurred
at 16 times the recommended clinical dose assuming 100% absorption and based
on body surface area comparison. For purposes of comparison of the animal exposure
to human exposure, the recommended clinical dose is defined as 1 g of VELTIN (clindamycin phosphate and tretinoin gel)
Gel applied daily to a 50 kg person.
Clindamycin
Reproductive developmental toxicity studies performed in rats and mice using oral doses of clindamycin up to 600 mg/kg/day (480 and 240 times the recommended clinical dose based on body surface area comparison, respectively) or subcutaneous doses of clindamycin up to 180 mg/kg/day (140 and 70 times the recommended clinical dose based on body surface area comparison, respectively) revealed no evidence of teratogenicity.
Tretinoin
Oral tretinoin has been shown to be teratogenic in mice, rats, hamsters, rabbits, and primates. It was teratogenic and fetotoxic in Wistar rats when given orally at doses greater than 1 mg/kg/day (32 times the recommended clinical dose based on body surface area comparison). However, variations in teratogenic doses among various strains of rats have been reported. In the cynomologous monkey, a species in which tretinoin metabolism is closer to humans than in other species examined, fetal malformations were reported at oral doses of 10 mg/kg/day or greater, but none were observed at 5 mg/kg/day (324 times the recommended clinical dose based on body surface area comparison), although increased skeletal variations were observed at all doses. Dose-related teratogenic effects and increased abortion rates were reported in pigtail macaques.
With widespread use of any drug, a small number of birth defect reports associated temporally with the administration of the drug would be expected by chance alone. Thirty cases of temporally associated congenital malformations have been reported during two decades of clinical use of another formulation of topical tretinoin. Although no definite pattern of teratogenicity and no causal association have been established from these cases, 5 of the reports describe the rare birth defect category, holoprosencephaly (defects associated with incomplete midline development of the forebrain). The significance of these spontaneous reports in terms of risk to fetus is not known.
Nursing Mothers
It is not known whether clindamycin is excreted in human milk following use
of VELTIN (clindamycin phosphate and tretinoin gel) Gel. However, orally and parenterally administered clindamycin has
been reported to appear in breast milk. Because of the potential for serious
adverse reactions in nursing infants, a decision should be made whether to discontinue
nursing or to discontinue the drug, taking into account the importance of the
drug to the mother. It is not known whether tretinoin is excreted in human milk.
Because many drugs are excreted in human milk, caution should be exercised when
VELTIN (clindamycin phosphate and tretinoin gel) Gel is administered to a nursing woman.
Pediatric Use
Safety and effectiveness of VELTIN (clindamycin phosphate and tretinoin gel) Gel in pediatric patients below the age
of 12 years have not been established.
Clinical trials of VELTIN (clindamycin phosphate and tretinoin gel) Gel included 2,086 patients 12-17 years of age with acne vulgaris. [See Clinical Studies]
Geriatric Use
Clinical studies of VELTIN (clindamycin phosphate and tretinoin gel) Gel did not include sufficient numbers of subjects
aged 65 and over to determine whether they respond differently from younger
subjects.