Eletriptan use while Breastfeeding

Summary of Use during Lactation

Limited information indicates that a maternal dose of eletriptan up to 80 mg daily produce low levels in milk and would not be expected to cause any adverse effects in breastfed infants, especially if the infant is older than 2 months. Infant exposure can be minimized by avoiding breastfeeding for 24 hours after treatment.

Drug Levels

Eletriptan is metabolized to an active metabolite that has a longer half-life than eletriptan, but its serotonin agonist activity is only about 10% that of eletriptan.

Maternal Levels. Eight lactating women who were at least 1 month postpartum were given a single 80 mg oral dose of eletriptan. An average of 12.9 mcg was excreted in the 24 hours after the dose. At 24 hours, breastmilk levels averaged 1.7 mcg/L. The half-life in milk of eletriptan was 3.6 hours.[1] The active metabolite was not measured in breastmilk.

Three women who were at least 1 month postpartum using eletriptan to treat migraine provided milk samples at intervals over a 24-hour period after a single dose. The authors estimated the weight-adjusted infant dosage to be 0.6% (range 0.3 to 0.8%).[2]

Infant Levels. Relevant published information was not found as of the revision date.

Effects in Breastfed Infants

Relevant published information was not found as of the revision date.

Effects on Lactation and Breastmilk

Relevant published information was not found as of the revision date.

Alternate Drugs to Consider

Rizatriptan, Sumatriptan, Zolmitriptan

References

1.

Research FDA Center for Drug Evaluation and. NDA 21-016. Clinical pharmacology and biopharmaceutics reviews. 2002:90. Accessed 1/25/2020. https://www​.accessdata​.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs​/nda/2002/21016_Relpax_BioPharmr​.pdf.

2.

Amundsen S, Nordeng H, Fuskevåg OM, et al. Transfer of triptans into human breast milk and estimation of infant drug exposure through breastfeeding. Reprod Toxicol. 2019;88:141. [CrossRef]

Substance Name

Eletriptan

CAS Registry Number

177834-92-3

Drug Class

Breast Feeding

Lactation

Serotonin Agonists

Vasoconstrictor Agents

Serotonin 5-HT1 Receptor Agonists

Triptans