Anoro Ellipta (Umeclidinium Bromide/Vilanterol Trifenatate)

Brand name: Anoro Ellipta
Generic name: Umeclidinium Bromide/Vilanterol Trifenatate
Used to: Control and prevent breathing problems caused by a lung disease
Availability: Brand Anoro Ellipta (GSK), 62.5 mcg/25 mcg/30 dose (equivalent to 55 mcg/22 mcg)

How Anoro Ellipta Works

Anoro Ellipta is used as a long-term, once a day maintenance treatment. It can make breathing easier for people who experience breathing difficulties (i.e., shortness of breath) due to a lung disease called Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease or COPD (including chronic bronchitis and emphysema). Anoro Ellipta is a combination of a long-acting muscarinic antagonist (Umeclidinium, a LAMA) and a long acting beta agonist (Vilanterol, a LABA). Anoro Ellipta relaxes the muscles in the walls of small airways in the lungs. The two medicines in Anoro Ellipta work together to help open the airways and makes it easier for air to get in and out of the lungs. When taken regularly, Anoro Ellipta helps keep the airways open, which can help prevent shortness of breath and wheezing. There is no cure for COPD, but Anoro Ellipta helps to control it. If you are a smoker, it is important to quit smoking. This will help decrease the symptoms of COPD and potentially increase your lifespan.

Anoro Ellipta Possible side effects

Contact your doctor or pharmacist if you experience side effects and they are severe and bothersome. Most of the side effect are manageable and may go away on their own. Some of the common side effects include:

• Constipation;
• Cough, common cold;
• Difficulty sleeping (insomnia);
• Diarrhea, stomach pain;
• Dry mouth, taste disturbance;
• Feeling of pressure or pain in the cheeks and forehead;
• Feeling dizzy, tired, unwell;
• Nervousness, feeling anxious;
• Nausea, vomiting;
• Pain in arms and legs, neck pain, back pain, headache;
• Sore throat (pharyngitis);
• Swollen painful joints;

Contact your doctor immediately if you notice the following symptoms:

• Chest pain;
• Infection of the lungs

Anoro Ellipta Guidelines

Do not take Anoro Ellipta: to treat sudden severe symptoms of COPD such as sudden shortness of breath or wheezing, to treat asthma, if you are allergic to any of the medicinal or non medicinal ingredients contained in the product, if you have a lactose or severe milk protein allergy, if you are younger than 18 years of age. Before you begin to use it, talk to your doctor if you have: heart problems, such as rapid or irregular heart beat or abnormal electrical signal, high blood pressure, eye problems such as increased pressure in the eye, prostate or bladder problems, or problems passing urine, diabetes, seizures, thyroid problems, any allergies to food or drugs, low levels of potassium in your blood. If you experience side effects such as dizziness or blurred vision, you should avoid driving or operating machinery. Anoro Ellipta should not be used to relieve a COPD flare-up. If you experience this sort of attack you must use a rapid onset, short duration, inhaled bronchodilator such as salbutamol (i.e. rescue medication).This medication should not be taken by pregnant women or women who are breast-feeding. The following may counteract with Rosuvastatin, so make sure to tell your doctor about any prescription and over-the-counter medications you are taking.

• Anti-HIV medicines or clarithromycin;
• Beta blockers used in the treatment of high blood pressure (e.g., propanolol) or other heart or eye problems (e.g., timolol);
• Ketoconazole (used to treat fungal infections);
• Medicines used in the treatment of depression (i.e., antidepressants, monoamine oxidase inhibitors);
• Medicines that decrease the level of potassium in your blood (i.e., diuretics);
• Other medications that contain a LABA or a shortor long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA) (e.g. ipratropium, tiotropium, glycopyrronium, aclidinium).