Consumer Information for: STEGLATRO

Consumer Information

Information about the product including what the product is used for, dosage, warnings, proper use and side effects. This summary will not tell you everything about the product. Contact your healthcare professional if you have any questions about the product.


What the medication is used for

Steglatro™ is used along with diet and exercise to improve blood sugar levels in adults with type 2 diabetes.

Steglatro™ can be used:

  • alone, if you cannot take metformin, or
  • with metformin, or
  • with metformin and sitagliptin.
What it does

Steglatro™ helps remove sugar from the body through the urine. This reduces the amount of sugar in the blood.

When it should not be used
  • Are allergic to any of its ingredients.
  • Have severe or end-stage kidney disease or are on dialysis. If you have moderate kidney problems, talk to your health care professional before you take Steglatro™.
  • Have severe liver disease.
  • Are experiencing a loss of fluids from the body for any reason. This could be due to excess heat exposure, vomiting, diarrhea or dehydration. It can be due to reduced drinking with illness or fasting.
  • Are pregnant or planning to become pregnant. It is not known if Steglatro™ may harm your unborn baby. If you are pregnant, talk with your doctor about the best way to control your blood sugar while you are pregnant.
  • Are breast-feeding or plan to breast-feed. It is not known if Steglatro™ passes into breast milk. Talk with your doctor if you would like to breast-feed.
What the medicinal ingredient is
  • ertugliflozin (in the form of ertugliflozin co-crystallized with L-pyroglutamic acid).
What the non-medicinal ingredients are
  • hypromellose, iron oxide red, lactose monohydrate, macrogol, magnesium stearate, microcrystalline cellulose, sodium starch glycolate, titanium dioxide and triacetin.
What dosage form it comes in
  • Tablets: 5 mg and 15 mg ertugliflozin.
Warnings and precautions

Serious Warnings and Precautions

Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) can happen while you are taking Steglatro™. It is a serious and life-threatening condition. Some cases of DKA can lead to death. It needs urgent hospital care. DKA can happen to diabetic patients with normal or high blood sugar levels. In DKA your body produces high levels of blood acids called ketones. It occurs when your body cannot produce enough insulin.

Seek medical help and stop taking Steglatro™ right away if you have any of the DKA symptoms. Do this even if your blood sugar levels are normal. The symptoms of DKA are: difficult breathing, nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, and loss of appetite. Confusion, thirst, unusual fatigue, sleepiness or tiredness, along with a sweet or metallic taste in the mouth or sweet smelling breath can be noticed. You may have a different odour to your urine or sweat.

Do not use Steglatro™ if you have type 1 diabetes. It is a disease where your body does not produce any insulin.

Do not use Steglatro™ if you have a history of DKA.

To help avoid side effects and ensure proper use, talk to your healthcare professional before you take Steglatro™. Talk about any health conditions or problems you may have, including if you:

  • are older than 65 years of age;
  • have any kidney problems;
  • have liver problems;
  • have heart failure or heart disease;
  • have low blood pressure;
  • are taking high blood pressure medicine;
  • are taking a diuretic medicine also known as water pills. They are used to remove excess water from the body;
  • have intolerance to some milk sugars. Steglatro™ tablets contain lactose;
  • often get urinary tract infections;
  • have an increased chance of developing DKA, if you:
    • are dehydrated or suffer from excessive vomiting, diarrhea, or sweating;
    • are on a very low carbohydrate diet;
    • drink a lot of alcohol;
    • have/have had problems with your pancreas. This includes pancreatitis or surgery on your pancreas;
    • are hospitalized for major surgery, serious infection, or sudden serious medical illness;
    • have a history of DKA;
  • are at increased risk for a possible Lower Limb Amputation, if you:
    • have a history of amputation;
    • have had blocked or narrowed blood vessels, usually in your leg;
    • have damage to the nerves (neuropathy) in your leg. This feels like tingling or numb hands and feet;
    • have had diabetic foot ulcers or sores;
    • have a lower limb infection;
    • are dehydrated. Staying well hydrated and doing regular foot care may help you avoid amputations. Ask your doctor for advice on these topics.

Other warnings you should know about:

  • Steglatro™ is not recommended for use in patients under 18 years of age.
  • Steglatro™ may cause higher levels of bad cholesterol, called LDL (a type of fat in your blood).
  • Steglatro™ increases the chance of getting a yeast infection of the penis or vagina. This is more likely in people who have had yeast infections in the past. It is also more common in uncircumcised men. In rare instances, phimosis (when the foreskin of the penis cannot be pulled back past the glans) was reported and sometimes circumcision was performed.
  • Steglatro™ may cause abnormal kidney function.

Driving and using machines: Steglatro™ may cause you to feel dizzy, weak or lightheaded. Do not drive or use machines until you know how the medicine affects you.

Tell your healthcare professional about all the medicines you take, including any drugs, vitamins, minerals, natural supplements, or alternative medicines.

If you start any new medicine, tell your healthcare professional.

Interactions with this medication

  • diuretics, known as water pills. They are used to remove excess water from the body.
  • medicines to lower your blood pressure.

Tell your healthcare professional if you take drugs to lower your blood sugar. Examples are glyburide, gliclazide, glimepiride (sulfonylureas) or insulin. If you take Steglatro™ with any of these drugs it can increase the risk of low blood sugar. This is called hypoglycemia. Steglatro™ is not approved for use with these drugs.

Proper use of this medication

Follow the directions given to you by your doctor.

  • once a day in the morning;
  • by mouth;
  • with or without food.

Usual Adult Dose

1 tablet a day.
The usual starting dose is one 5 mg tablet each day. Your doctor may increase your dose to one 15 mg tablet to further control your blood sugar level.

Overdose

If you think you have taken too much Steglatro™, contact your healthcare professional, hospital emergency department or regional Poison Control Centre immediately, even if there are no symptoms.

Missed Dose

  • If you miss a dose, take it as soon as you remember. If you do not remember until it is time for your next dose, skip the missed dose and go back to your regular schedule.
  • Do not take 2 doses of Steglatro™ on the same day.
Side effects and what to do about them

These are not all the possible side effects you may have when taking Steglatro™. If you experience any side effects not listed here, contact your healthcare professional.

Side effects may include:

  • Unusual thirst
  • Vaginal itching
  • You feel generally well and have changes in your urination. These include the need to urinate more often, in larger amounts, or at night
  • Headache

Steglatro™ will cause your urine to test positive for sugar (glucose). You should use a different way to monitor your diabetes.

Steglatro™ can cause abnormal blood test results. Your doctor may do blood tests before you start Steglatro™ and while you take it. They may check your blood sugar, blood fat levels, liver function, amount of red blood cells in your blood and how well your kidneys are working. Your doctor will decide when to perform blood tests and will interpret the results.

Serious side effects and what to do about them
Symptom / effect Talk to your healthcare professional Only if severe Talk to your healthcare professional In all cases Stop taking drug and get immediate medical help
VERY COMMON
Genital infections –Vaginal yeast infection: severe itching, burning, soreness, irritation and a whitish-grey cottage cheese-like discharge. ✔    
COMMON
Volume depletion (dehydration, loss of fluids from your body): dry or sticky mouth, headache, dizziness, urinating less often than normal, thirst.   ✔  
Low blood sugar (hypoglycemia): shaking, sweating, rapid heartbeat, change in vision, hunger, headache and change in mood.   ✔  
Genital infections – Yeast infection of the penis: red, swollen, itchy head of the penis; thick, lumpy discharge under foreskin with an unpleasant odour; difficulty retracting foreskin, pain when passing urine or during sex. ✔    
UNCOMMON
Urinary tract infection: burning sensation when passing urine, pain in the pelvis or mid-back pain, increased need to urinate.   ✔  
Acute kidney infection: painful, urgent or frequent urination, lower back (flank) pain, fever or chills, cloudy or foul smelling urine, blood in your urine.     ✔
Kidney problems: you feel unwell and you have any change in the amount, frequency or colour (pale or dark) of your urine   ✔  
Low blood pressure: dizziness, fainting, lightheadedness which may occur when you go from lying to sitting to standing up and when you start on Steglatro™.   ✔  
Possible need for lower limb amputation: on the feet, toes or legs, new pain or tenderness in a specific bone with redness; non-healing sores or ulcers; brownish/black cold skin.   ✔  
RARE
Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA): difficulty breathing, nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, loss of appetite, confusion, thirst, unusual fatigue, sleepiness or tiredness, a sweet or metallic taste in the mouth, sweet smelling breath, or different odour to urine or sweat.     ✔

If you have a troublesome symptom or side effect that is not listed here or becomes bad enough to interfere with your daily activities, talk to your healthcare professional.
How to store

Store at 15°C to 30°C. Protect from moisture.

Keep out of reach and sight of children.

Reporting side effects

You can report any suspected side effects associated with the use of health products to Health Canada by:

NOTE: Contact your health professional if you need information about how to manage your side effects. The Canada Vigilance Program does not provide medical advice.

More information
  • Talk to your healthcare professional.
  • Find the full product monograph that is prepared for healthcare professionals and includes this Patient Medication Information by visiting the Health Canada website or the Merck Canada website www.merck.ca or by calling Merck Canada at 1-800-567-2594.

To report an adverse event related to Steglatro™, please contact 1-800-567-2594.

This leaflet was prepared by Merck Canada Inc.

Last Revised: May 8, 2018

™ Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. Used under license.
© 2018 Merck Canada Inc. All rights reserved.

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