20 Ml Sodium Benzoate 100 Mg/ml / Sodium Phenylacetate 100 Mg/ml Injection

Sodium Phenylacetate and Sodium Benzoate Injection should be administered as a loading dose infusion over 90 to 120 minutes, followed by the same dose repeated as a maintenance infusion administered over 24 hours. Because of prolonged plasma levels achieved by phenylacetate in pharmacokinetic studies, repeat loading doses of Sodium Phenylacetate and Sodium Benzoate Injection should not be administered. Maintenance infusions may be continued until elevated plasma ammonia levels have been normalized or the patient can tolerate oral nutrition and medications. An antiemetic may be administered during Sodium Phenylacetate and Sodium Benzoate Injection infusion to aid control of infusion-associated nausea and vomiting. Administration of analogous oral drugs, such as sodium phenylbutyrate, should be terminated prior to Sodium Phenylacetate and Sodium Benzoate Injection infusion.

Sodium Phenylacetate and Sodium Benzoate Injection infusion should be started as soon as the diagnosis of hyperammonemia is made. Treatment of hyperammonemia also requires caloric supplementation and restriction of dietary protein. Non-protein calories should be supplied principally as glucose (8–10 mg/kg/min) with an intravenous fat emulsion added. Attempts should be made to maintain a caloric intake of greater than 80 kcal/kg/day. During and after infusion of Sodium Phenylacetate and Sodium Benzoate Injection, ongoing monitoring of the following clinical laboratory values is crucial: plasma ammonia, glutamine, quantitative plasma amino acids, blood glucose, electrolytes, venous or arterial blood gases, AST and ALT. On-going monitoring of the following clinical responses is also crucial to assess patient response to treatment: neurological status, Glasgow Coma Scale, tachypnea, CT or MRI scan or fundoscopic evidence of cerebral edema, and/or of gray matter and white matter damage. Hemodialysis should be considered in patients with severe hyperammonemia or who are not responsive to Sodium Phenylacetate and Sodium Benzoate Injection administration [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1) ]. In the non-neonatal study patient population treated with Sodium Phenylacetate and Sodium Benzoate Injection, dialysis was required in 13% of hyperammonemic episodes. Standard hemodialysis was the most frequently used dialysis method. High levels of ammonia can be reduced quickly when Sodium Phenylacetate and Sodium Benzoate Injection is used with hemodialysis, as the ammonia-scavenging of Sodium Phenylacetate and Sodium Benzoate Injection suppresses the production of ammonia from catabolism of endogenous protein and hemodialysis eliminates the ammonia and ammonia conjugates.

Sodium Phenylacetate and Sodium Benzoate Injection solutions are physically and chemically stable for up to 24 hours at room temperature and room lighting conditions. No compatibility information is presently available for Sodium Phenylacetate and Sodium Benzoate Injection infusion solutions except for Arginine HCl Injection, 10%, which may be mixed in the same container as Sodium Phenylacetate and Sodium Benzoate Injection. Other infusion solutions and drug products should not be administered together with Sodium Phenylacetate and Sodium Benzoate Injection infusion solution. Sodium Phenylacetate and Sodium Benzoate Injection solutions may be prepared in glass and PVC containers.

Arginine Administration

Intravenous arginine is an essential component of therapy for patients with carbamyl phosphate synthetase (CPS), ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC), argininosuccinate synthetase (ASS), or argininosuccinate lyase (ASL) deficiency. Because hyperchloremic acidosis may develop after high-dose arginine hydrochloride administration, chloride and bicarbonate levels should be monitored and appropriate amounts of bicarbonate administered.

In hyperammonemic infants with suspected, but unconfirmed urea cycle disorders, intravenous arginine should be given (6 mL/kg of Arginine HCl Injection 10%, over 90 minutes followed by the same dose given as a maintenance infusion over 24 hours). If deficiencies of ASS or ASL are excluded as diagnostic possibilities, the intravenous dose of arginine HCl should be reduced to 2 mL/kg/day Arginine HCl Injection 10%.

Converting To Oral Treatment

Once elevated ammonia levels have been reduced to the normal range, oral therapy, such as sodium phenylbutyrate, dietary management and maintenance protein restrictions should be started or reinitiated.

The safety data were obtained from 316 patients who received Sodium Phenylacetate and Sodium Benzoate Injection as emergency (rescue) or prospective treatment for hyperammonemia as part of an uncontrolled, open-label study. The study population included patients between the ages of 0 to 53 years with a mean (SD) of 6.2 (8.54) years; 51% were male and 49% were female who had the following diagnoses: OTC (46%), ASS (22%), CPS (12%), ASL (2%), ARG (<1%), THN (<1%), and other (18%).

Some antibiotics such as penicillin may compete with phenylacetylglutamine and hippurate for active secretion by renal tubules, which may affect the overall disposition of the infused drug.

Probenecid is known to inhibit the renal transport of many organic compounds, including aminohippuric acid, and may affect renal excretion of phenylacetylglutamine and hippurate.

There have been reports that valproic acid can induce hyperammonemia through inhibition of the synthesis of N-acetylglutamate, a co-factor for carbamyl phosphate synthetase. Therefore, administration of valproic acid to patients with urea cycle disorders may exacerbate their condition and antagonize the efficacy of Sodium Phenylacetate and Sodium Benzoate Injection.

Use of corticosteroids may cause a protein catabolic state and, thereby, potentially increase plasma ammonia levels in patients with impaired ability to form urea.

Available data on the combination use of Sodium Phenylacetate and Sodium Benzoate in pregnant women are insufficient to identify a drug-associated risk of major birth defects, miscarriage or adverse maternal or fetal outcomes. Animal reproduction studies have not been conducted with Sodium Phenylacetate and Sodium Benzoate Injection.

The estimated background risk of major birth defects and miscarriage for the indicated population is unknown. All pregnancies have a background risk of birth defect, loss or other adverse outcomes. In the U.S. general population, the estimated background risk of major birth defects and miscarriage in clinically recognized pregnancies is 2 to 4% and 15 to 20%, respectively.

There are no data on the presence of sodium phenylacetate, sodium benzoate in either human or animal milk, the effects on the breastfed infant, or the effects on milk production. The developmental and health benefits of breastfeeding should be considered along with the mother's clinical need for Sodium Phenylacetate and Sodium Benzoate Injection and any potential adverse effects on the breastfed infant from Sodium Phenylacetate and Sodium Benzoate Injection or from the underlying maternal condition.

Sodium phenylacetate and sodium benzoate are metabolically active compounds that can serve as alternatives to urea for the excretion of waste nitrogen. Figure 2 is a schematic illustrating how the components of Sodium Phenylacetate and Sodium Benzoate Injection, phenylacetate and benzoate, provide an alternative pathway for nitrogen disposal in patients without a fully functioning urea cycle. Phenylacetate conjugates with glutamine in the liver and kidneys to form phenylacetylglutamine, via acetylation. Phenylacetylglutamine is excreted by the kidneys via glomerular filtration and tubular secretion. The nitrogen content of phenylacetylglutamine per mole is identical to that of urea (both contain two moles of nitrogen). Two moles of nitrogen are removed per mole of phenylacetate when it is conjugated with glutamine. Similarly, preceded by acylation, benzoate conjugates with glycine to form hippuric acid, which is rapidly excreted by the kidneys by glomerular filtration and tubular secretion. One mole of hippuric acid contains one mole of waste nitrogen. Thus, one mole of nitrogen is removed per mole of benzoate when it is conjugated with glycine.

Figure 2

Similarly, phenylacetate exhibited nonlinear kinetics following the priming dose regimens. AUC_last was 175.6, 713.8, 2040.6, 2181.6, and 3829.2 mcg⋅h/mL following doses of 1, 2, 3.75, 4, and 5.5 g/m², respectively. The total clearance decreased from 1.82 to 0.89 mcg⋅h/mL with increasing dose (3.75 and 4 g/m², respectively).

During the sequence of 90 minute priming infusion followed by a 24 hour maintenance infusion, phenylacetate was detected in the plasma at the end of infusion (T_max of 2 hr at 3.75 g/m²) whereas, benzoate concentrations declined rapidly (T_max of 1.5 hr at 3.75 g/m²) and were undetectable at 14 and 26 hours following the 3.75 and 4 g/m²dose, respectively.

A difference in the metabolic rates for phenylacetate and benzoate was noted. The formation of hippurate from benzoate occurred more rapidly than that of phenylacetylglutamine from phenylacetate, and the rate of elimination for hippurate appeared to be more rapid than that for phenylacetylglutamine.

Pharmacokinetic observations have also been reported from twelve episodes of hyperammonemic encephalopathy in seven children diagnosed (age 3 to 26 months) with urea cycle disorders who had been administered Sodium Phenylacetate and Sodium Benzoate Injection intravenously. These data showed peak plasma levels of phenylacetate and benzoate at approximately the same times as were observed in healthy adults. As in healthy adults, the plasma levels of phenylacetate were higher than benzoate and were present for a longer time.

The pharmacokinetics of intravenous phenylacetate have been reported following administration to adult patients with advanced solid tumors. The decline in serum phenylacetate concentrations following a loading infusion of 150 mg/kg was consistent with saturable enzyme kinetics. Ninety-nine percent of administered phenylacetate was excreted as phenylacetylglutamine.