ACTOS should be taken once daily without regard to meals.
The management of antidiabetic therapy should be individualized. Ideally, the response to therapy should be evaluated using HbA1c which is a better indicator of longterm glycemic control than FBG alone. HbA1c reflects glycemia over the past two to three months. In clinical use, it is recommended that patients be treated with ACTOS for
a period of time adequate to evaluate change in HbA1c (three months) unless glycemic control deteriorates.
Monotherapy
ACTOS monotherapy in patients not adequately controlled with diet and exercise may be initiated at 15 mg or 30 mg once daily. For patients who respond inadequately to the
initial dose of ACTOS, the dose can be increased in increments up to 45 mg once daily.
For patients not responding adequately to monotherapy, combination therapy should be considered.
Combination Therapy
Sulfonylureas: ACTOS in combination with a sulfonylurea may be initiated at 15 mg or 30 mg once daily. The current sulfonylurea dose can be continued upon initiation of
ACTOS therapy. If patients report hypoglycemia, the dose of the sulfonylurea should be decreased.
Metformin: ACTOS in combination with metformin may be initiated at 15 mg or 30 mg once daily. The current metformin dose can be continued upon initiation of ACTOS
therapy. It is unlikely that the dose of metformin will require adjustment due to hypoglycemia during combination therapy with ACTOS.
Insulin: ACTOS in combination with insulin may be initiated at 15 mg or 30 mg once daily. The current insulin dose can be continued upon initiation of ACTOS therapy. In
patients receiving ACTOS and insulin, the insulin dose can be decreased by 10% to 25% if the patient reports hypoglycemia or if plasma glucose concentrations decrease to
less than 100 mg/dL. Further adjustments should be individualized based on glucoselowering response.
Maximum Recommended Dose
The dose of ACTOS should not exceed 45 mg once daily since doses higher than 45 mg once daily have not been studied in placebo-controlled clinical studies. No placebo-
controlled clinical studies of more than 30 mg once daily have been conducted in combination therapy.
Dose adjustment in patients with renal insufficiency is not recommended (see CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY, Pharmacokinetics and Drug Metabolism).
Therapy with ACTOS should not be initiated if the patient exhibits clinical evidence of active liver disease or increased serum transaminase levels (ALT greater than 2.5 times
the upper limit of normal) at start of therapy (see PRECAUTIONS, General, Hepatic Effects and CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY, Special Populations, Hepatic Insufficiency).
Liver enzyme monitoring is recommended in all patients prior to initiation of therapy with ACTOS and periodically thereafter (see PRECAUTIONS, General, Hepatic Effects).
There are no data on the use of ACTOS in patients under 18 years of age; therefore, use of ACTOS in pediatric patients is not recommended.
No data are available on the use of ACTOS in combination with another thiazolidinedione.