Esomeprazole is indicated:

• To relieve from chronic heartburn symptoms and other symptoms associated with GERD
• For the healing of erosive esophagitis
• For maintenance of healing of erosive esophagitis
• In combination with amoxicillin and clarithromycin for eradication of Helicobacter pylori infection in patients with duodenal ulcer disease.
• Zollinger-Ellison Syndrome
• Acid related Dyspepsia
• Duodenal & Gastric ulcer

Healing of Erosive Esophagitis: 20 mg or 40 mg Once Daily for 4-8 Weeks. The majority of patients are healed within 4 to 8 weeks. For patients who don't heal after 4-8 weeks, an additional 4-8 weeks of treatment may be considered. Maintenance of Healing of Erosive

Esophagitis: 20 mg Once Daily (Clinical studies did not extend 6 months).

Symptomatic GERD: 20 mg Once Daily for 4 Weeks. If symptoms do not resolve completely after 4 weeks, an additional 4 weeks of treatment may be considered.

Helicobacter Pylori eradication: Triple Therapy to reduce the risk of Duodenal Ulcer recurrence-Esomeprazole 40 mg Once Daily for 10 days, Amoxicillin 1000 mg Twice Daily for 10 days, Clarithromycin 500 mg Twice Daily for 10 days.

Zollinger-Ellison Syndrome: The dose is 20-80 mg once daily. The dosage should be adjusted individually and treatment continued as long as clinically indicated.

Acid-related Dyspepsia: 20-40 mg once daily for 2-4 weeks according to the response.

Duodenal ulcer: 20 mg once daily for 2-4 weeks. Gastric ulcer: 20-40 mg once daily for 4-8 weeks.

Injection: The recommended adult dose is 40 mg Esomeprazole given once daily by intravenous injection (not less than 3 minutes) or intravenous infusion (10 to 30 minutes). Esomeprazole IV injection should not be administered concomitantly with any other medications through the same intravenous site. Treatment with Esomeprazole IV injection should be discontinued as soon as the patient is able to resume treatment with Esomeprazole delayed-release capsules. Safety and effectiveness in paediatric patients have not been established.

Administration

Esomeprazole tablet or capsule: should be swallowed whole and taken one hour before a meal.

Direction for use of Delayed-Release Oral Suspension: Whole contents of the packet should be taken into a small glass containing 15 ml. of water. The mixer should be stirred well and leave 2 to 3 minutes to thicken. Stir again and drink within 30 minutes. If any medicine remains after drinking, add more water, stir, and drink immediately. If the suspension is to be administered through a nasogastric or gastric tube, the volume of water in the syringe should be 15 ml. & immediately shake the syringe and leave 2 to 3 minutes to thicken. Shake the syringe and inject it through the nasogastric or gastric tube into the stomach within 30 minutes. An appropriately sized syringe should be used. Shake and flush any remaining contents from the nasogastric or gastric tube into the stomach.

Esomeprazole IV Injection: Esomeprazole IV should be given as a slow intravenous injection. The solution for IV injection is obtained by adding to the vial 5 ml of the solvent (WFI) provided. After reconstitution, the injection should be given slowly over a period of at least 3 minutes. The solution should be used within 12 hours of reconstitution when stored at room temperature up to 30°C. No refrigeration is required. The reconstituted solution should not be used if it contains visible particulate.

Esomeprazole is contraindicated in-patient with known hypersensitivity to any of the formulation.

The most frequently occurring adverse events reported with Esomeprazole include headache, diarrhoea, nausea, flatulence, abdominal pain, constipation and dry mouth. There are no difference in types of related adverse events seen during maintenance treatment upto 12 months compared to short term treatment.

Overdose Effects

A single oral dose of Esomeprazole at 510 mg/kg (about 103 times the human dose on a body surface area basis), has been lethal to rats. The major signs of acute toxicity are reduced motor activity, changes in respiratory frequency, tremor, ataxia, and intermittent clonic convulsions. There have been no reports of overdose with Esomeprazole. No specific antidote for Esomeprazole is known. Since Esomeprazole is extensively protein bound, it is not expected to be removed by dialysis. In the event of overdosage, treatment should be symptomatic and supportive. As with the management of any overdose, the possibility of multiple drug ingestion should be considered.

General: Symptomatic response to therapy with esomeprazole does not preclude the presence of gastric malignancy.

Information for patients: Esomeprazole capsules should be taken at least one hour before meals. For patients who have difficulty swallowing capsules, one tablespoon of applesauce can be added to an empty bowl and the Esomeprazole capsules can be opened, and the pellets inside the capsule carefully emptied onto the applesauce. The pellets should be mixed with the applesauce and then swallowed immediately. The applesauce used should not be hot and should be soft enough to be swallowed without chewing. The pellets should not be chewed or crushed. The pellet/applesauce mixture should not be stored for future use. Antacids may be used while taking esomeprazole.

Use in Special Populations

Paediatric Use: Safety and effectiveness in paediatric patients have not been established.

Geriatric Use: No overall differences in safety and efficacy have been observed between the elderly and younger individuals, and other reported clinical experience has not identified differences in responses between the elderly and younger patients, but greater sensitivity of some older individuals cannot be ruled out

Hepatic Insufficiency: No dosage adjustment is recommended for patients with mild to moderate hepatic insufficiency. However, in patients with severe hepatic insufficiency, a dose of 20 mg once daily should not be exceeded.

Renal Insufficiency: The Pharmacokinetics of Esomeprazole in patients with renal impairment are not expected to be altered relative to healthy volunteers as less than 1% of Esomeprazole is excreted unchanged in the urine.