Glimepiride side effects

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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] Phone:617-632-7753

List of side effects

Hypoglycemia

Occurrence in > 1% of patients

Gastrointestinal reactions

Dermatologic reactions

Hematologic reactions

Metabolic reactions

Other reactions

Pediatric patients

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Hypoglycemia

The incidence of hypoglycemia with Glimepiride, as documented by blood glucose values < 60 mg/dL, ranged from 0.9% to 1.7% in two large, well-controlled, 1 year studies. Return to top

Occurrence in > 1% of patients

Adverse events, other than hypoglycemia, considered to be possibly or probably related to study drug that occurred in US placebo-controlled trials in more than 1% of patients treated with Glimepiride included the following: dizziness, asthenia, headache, nausea. Return to top

Gastrointestinal reactions

Vomiting, gastrointestinal pain, and diarrhea have been reported, but the incidence in placebo-controlled trials was less than 1%. In rare cases, there may be an elevation of liver enzyme levels. In isolated instances, impairment of liver function (e.g. with cholestasis and jaundice), as well as hepatitis, which may also lead to liver failure have been reported with sulfonylureas, including Glimepiride. Return to top

Dermatologic reactions

Allergic skin reactions, e.g., pruritus, erythema, urticaria, and morbilliform or maculopapular eruptions, occur in less than 1% of treated patients. These may be transient and may disappear despite continued use of Glimepiride. If those hypersensitivity reactions persist or worsen, the drug should be discontinued. Porphyria cutanea tarda, photosensitivity reactions, and allergic vasculitis have been reported with sulfonylureas, including Glimepiride. Return to top

Hematologic reactions

Leukopenia, agranulocytosis, thrombocytopenia, hemolytic anemia, aplastic anemia, and pancytopenia have been reported with sulfonylureas, including Glimepiride. Return to top

Metabolic reactions

Hepatic porphyria reactions and disulfiram-like reactions have been reported with sulfonylureas, including Glimepiride. Cases of hyponatremia have been reported with Glimepiride and all other sulfonylureas, most often in patients who are on other medications or have medical conditions known to cause hyponatremia or increase release of antidiuretic hormone. The syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone (SIADH) secretion has been reported with sulfonylureas, including Glimepiride, and it has been suggested that certain sulfonylureas may augment the peripheral (antidiuretic) action of ADH and/or increase release of ADH. Return to top

Other reactions

Changes in accommodation and/or blurred vision may occur with the use of Glimepiride. This is thought to be due to changes in blood glucose, and may be more pronounced when treatment is initiated. This condition is also seen in untreated diabetic patients, and may actually be reduced by treatment. In placebo-controlled trials of Glimepiride, the incidence of blurred vision was placebo, 0.7%, and Glimepiride, 0.4%. Return to top

Pediatric patients

In a clinical trial, 135 pediatric patients with Type 2 diabetes were treated with Glimepiride. The profile of adverse reactions in these patients was similar to that observed in adults. Return to top

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The content of this page is taken from the FDA package insert for this drug and should not be edited.