Ultiva Side Effects

Please note - some side effects for Ultiva may not be reported. Always consult your doctor or healthcare specialist for medical advice. You may also report side effects to the FDA at http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/ or 1-800-FDA-1088 (1-800-332-1088).

Side Effects of Ultiva - for the Consumer

Ultiva

All medicines may cause side effects, but many people have no, or minor, side effects. Check with your doctor if any of these most COMMON side effects persist or become bothersome when using Ultiva:

Changes in vision; chills; dizziness; drowsiness; fever; headache; itching; nausea; shivering; sweating; vomiting.

Severe allergic reactions (rash; hives; itching; difficulty breathing; tightness in the chest; swelling of the mouth, face, lips, or tongue); fast or slow heartbeat; interrupted breathing; lightheadedness; muscle tightness; pain, redness, or swelling at the injection site; seizures.

Side Effects by Body System

Respiratory

Respiratory side effects have included respiratory depression, apnea, and hypoxia. These effects have tended to occur most frequently in the immediate postoperative period.

Extremely small doses of remifentanil can cause serious respiratory depression.

Amin and colleagues have shown that respiratory depression due to remifentanil is reversed within 10 minutes upon withdrawal of the drug. The administration of naloxone has not been shown to be more effective than withdrawal of remifentanil alone.

Gastrointestinal

Gastrointestinal side effects including nausea (22% to 44%) and vomiting (8% to 22%) have been reported to occur most frequently in the postoperative period.

Cardiovascular

Cardiovascular side effects such as hypotension (4% to 19%) and bradycardia (1% to 7%) have been reported to occur most frequently during the induction and maintenance period. Hypertension and tachycardia have been rare events.

Bradycardia and hypotension are probably due to a centrally mediated increase in vagal nerve activity. Glycopyrrolate, atropine and/or ephedrine may be useful in treating these effects. Unlike morphine, decreases in blood pressure are not due to histamine release.

Dershwitz and colleagues describe a case in which a patient who was taking 100 mg of metoprolol twice a day for hypertension experienced severe bradycardia and hypotension within 2 minutes of receiving remifentanil intravenously at 0.3 mg/kg/min. These symptoms responded to atropine, ephedrine and phenylephrine. Remifentanil was continued without further sequelae.

Musculoskeletal

Musculoskeletal side effects have included muscle rigidity (<1% to 11%) which has occurred more frequently during induction and maintenance than postoperatively.

Rigidity may be lessened by concomitant administration of a muscle relaxant.

Nervous system

Nervous system side effects including dizziness and agitation have been relatively rare (<5%). A case of generalized tonic-clonic activity has also been reported.

Other

Other side effects have included postoperative shivering, chills, and fever (1% to 5%). Headache has been reported to occur more frequently in monitored anesthesia care patients (18%) than in general anesthesia patients (1% to 2%).

Dermatologic

Dermatologic side effects have included pruritus (1% to 18%) and sweating (6%). Dermatologic side effects have been more common in patients receiving monitored anesthesia care.

Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided is accurate, up-to-date, and complete, but no guarantee is made to that effect. In addition, the drug information contained herein may be time sensitive and should not be utilized as a reference resource beyond the date hereof. This information does not endorse drugs, diagnose patients, or recommend therapy. This drug information is a reference resource designed as supplement to, and not a substitute for, the expertise, skill , knowledge, and judgement of healthcare practitioners in patient care. The absence of a warning for a given drug or drug combination in no way should be construed to indicate that the drug of drug combination is safe, effective, or appropriate for any given patient. Drugs.com does not assume any responsibility for any aspect of healthcare administered with the aid of information provided. The information contained herein is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, warnings, drug interactions, allergic reactions, or adverse effects. If you have questions about the drugs you are taking, check with your doctor, nurse, or pharmacist.