The most commonly reported adverse reactions in surgical patients were cough, airway complication of anaesthesia, anaesthetic complications, procedural hypotension and procedural complication (Common (≥1/100 to <1/10)).
The safety of sugammadex has been evaluated in 3,519 unique subjects across a pooled phase I-III safety database. The following adverse reactions were reported in placebo controlled trials where subjects received anaesthesia and/or neuromuscular blocking agents (1,078 subject exposures to sugammadex versus 544 to placebo). [Very common (≥1/10), common (≥1/100 to <1/10), uncommon (≥1/1,000 to <1/100), rare (≥1/10,000 to <1/1,000), very rare (<1/10,000)].
The following adverse reactions have been reported in patients that are considered to be related to the use of sugammadex: See Table 8.

Drug hypersensitivity reactions: Hypersensitivity reactions, including anaphylaxis, have occurred in some patients and volunteers (for information on volunteers, see Recurrence of neuromuscular blockade: Information on healthy volunteers as follows). In clinical trials of surgical patients these reactions were reported uncommonly and for post-marketing reports the frequency is unknown.
These reactions varied from isolated skin reactions to serious systemic reactions (i.e. anaphylaxis, anaphylactic shock) and have occurred in patients with no prior exposure to sugammadex.
Symptoms associated with these reactions can include: Flushing, urticaria, erythematous rash, (severe) hypotension, tachycardia, swelling of tongue, swelling of pharynx, bronchospasm and pulmonary obstructive events. Severe hypersensitivity reactions can be fatal.
Airway complication of anaesthesia: Airway complications of anaesthesia included bucking against the endotracheal tube, coughing, mild bucking, arousal reaction during surgery, coughing during the anaesthetic procedure or during surgery, or anaesthetic procedure-related spontaneous breath of patient.
Anaesthetic complication: Anaesthetic complications, indicative of the restoration of neuromuscular function, include movement of a limb or the body or coughing during the anaesthetic procedure or during surgery, grimacing, or suckling on the endotracheal tube. (See Light anaesthesia under Precautions.)
Procedural complication: Procedural complications included coughing, tachycardia, bradycardia, movement, and increase in heart rate.
Marked bradycardia: In post-marketing, isolated cases of marked bradycardia and bradycardia with cardiac arrest have been observed within minutes after administration of sugammadex (see Precautions).
Recurrence of neuromuscular blockade: In clinical studies with subjects treated with rocuronium or vecuronium, where sugammadex was administered using a dose labelled for the depth of neuromuscular blockade (N=2022), an incidence of 0.20% was observed for recurrence of neuromuscular blockade as based on neuromuscular monitoring or clinical evidence (see Precautions).
Information on healthy volunteers: A randomised, double-blind study examined the incidence of drug hypersensitivity reactions in healthy volunteers given up to 3 doses of placebo (N=76), sugammadex 4 mg/kg (N=151) or sugammadex 16 mg/kg (N=148). Reports of suspected hypersensitivity were adjudicated by a blinded committee. The incidence of adjudicated hypersensitivity was 1.3%, 6.6% and 9.5% in the placebo, sugammadex 4 mg/kg and sugammadex 16 mg/kg groups, respectively. There were no reports of anaphylaxis after placebo or sugammadex 4 mg/kg. There was a single case of adjudicated anaphylaxis after the first dose of sugammadex 16 mg/kg (incidence 0.7%). There was no evidence of increased frequency or severity of hypersensitivity with repeat dosing of sugammadex.
In a previous study of similar design, there were three adjudicated cases of anaphylaxis, all after sugammadex 16 mg/kg (incidence 2.0%).
In the Pooled Phase 1 database, AEs considered common (≥1/100 to <1/10) or very common (≥1/10) and more frequent among subjects treated with sugammadex than in the placebo group, include dysgeusia (10.1%), headache (6.7%), nausea (5.6%), urticaria (1.7%), pruritus (1.7%), dizziness (1.6%), vomiting (1.2%) and abdominal pain (1.0%).
Additional information on special populations: Pulmonary patients: In post-marketing data and in one dedicated clinical trial in patients with a history of pulmonary complications, bronchospasm was reported as a possibly related adverse event. As with all patients with a history of pulmonary complications the physician should be aware of the possible occurrence of bronchospasm.
Paediatric population: In studies of paediatric patients 2 to 17 years of age, the safety profile of sugammadex (up to 4 mg/kg) was generally similar to the profile observed in adults.
Morbidly obese patients: In one dedicated clinical trial in morbidly obese patients, the safety profile was generally similar to the profile in adult patients in pooled Phase 1 to 3 studies.
Patients with severe systemic disease: In a trial in patients who were assessed as American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) Class 3 or 4 (patients with severe systemic disease or patients with severe systemic disease that is a constant threat to life), the adverse reaction profile in these ASA Class 3 and 4 patients was generally similar to that of adult patients in pooled Phase 1 to 3 studies.
Any adverse drug reactions should be immediately reported to the physician or pharmacist.
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