5 WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS • LABA monotherapy increases the risk of serious asthma-related events. ( 5.1 ) • Do not initiate in acutely deteriorating asthma or COPD. Do not use to treat acute symptoms. ( 5.2 ) • Do not use in combination with an additional medicine containing a LABA because of risk of overdose. ( 5.3 ) • Candida albicans infection of the mouth and pharynx may occur. Monitor patients periodically. Advise the patient to rinse his/her mouth with water without swallowing after inhalation to help reduce the risk. ( 5.4 ) • Increased risk of pneumonia in patients with COPD. Monitor patients for signs and symptoms of pneumonia. ( 5.5 ) • Potential worsening of infections (e.g., existing tuberculosis; fungal, bacterial, viral, or parasitic infections; ocular herpes simplex). Use with caution in patients with these infections. More serious or even fatal course of chickenpox or measles can occur in susceptible patients. ( 5.6 ) • Risk of impaired adrenal function when transferring from systemic corticosteroids. Taper patients slowly from systemic corticosteroids if transferring to Fluticasone Propionate/Salmeterol DISKUS. ( 5.7 ) • Hypercorticism and adrenal suppression may occur with very high dosages or at the regular dosage in susceptible individuals. If such changes occur, discontinue Fluticasone Propionate/Salmeterol DISKUS slowly. ( 5.8 ) • If paradoxical bronchospasm occurs, discontinue Fluticasone Propionate/Salmeterol DISKUS and institute alternative therapy. ( 5.10 ) • Use with caution in patients with cardiovascular or central nervous system disorders because of beta-adrenergic stimulation. ( 5.12 ) • Assess for decrease in bone mineral density initially and periodically thereafter. ( 5.13 ) • Monitor growth of pediatric patients. ( 5.14 ) • Glaucoma and cataracts may occur with long-term use of inhaled corticosteroids. Consider referral to an ophthalmologist in patients who develop ocular symptoms or use Fluticasone Propionate/Salmeterol DISKUS long term. ( 5.15 ) • Be alert to eosinophilic conditions, hypokalemia, and hyperglycemia. ( 5.16 , 5.18 ) • Use with caution in patients with convulsive disorders, thyrotoxicosis, diabetes mellitus, and ketoacidosis. ( 5.17 ) 5.1 Serious Asthma-Related Events – Hospitalizations, Intubations, Death Use of LABA as monotherapy (without ICS) for asthma is associated with an increased risk of asthma-related death [see Salmeterol Multicenter Asthma Research Trial (SMART)] . Available data from controlled clinical trials also suggest that use of LABA as monotherapy increases the risk of asthma-related hospitalization in pediatric and adolescent patients. These findings are considered a class effect of LABA monotherapy. When LABA are used in fixed-dose combination with ICS, data from large clinical trials do not show a significant increase in the risk of serious asthma‑related events (hospitalizations, intubations, death) compared with ICS alone (see Serious Asthma-Related Events with Inhaled Corticosteroid/Long-acting Beta 2 -adrenergic Agonists) . Serious Asthma-Related Events with Inhaled Corticosteroid/Long-acting Beta 2 -adrenergic Agonists Four (4) large, 26-week, randomized, double-blind, active-controlled clinical safety trials were conducted to evaluate the risk of serious asthma-related events when LABA were used in fixed-dose combination with ICS compared with ICS alone in subjects with asthma. Three (3) trials included adult and adolescent subjects aged 12 years and older: 1 trial compared fluticasone propionate/salmeterol inhalation powder with fluticasone propionate inhalation powder [see Clinical Studies ( 14.1 )] , 1 trial compared mometasone furoate/formoterol with mometasone furoate, and 1 trial compared budesonide/formoterol with budesonide. The fourth trial included pediatric subjects aged 4 to 11 years and compared fluticasone propionate/salmeterol inhalation powder with fluticasone propionate inhalation powder [see Clinical Studies ( 14.1 )] . The primary safety endpoint for all 4 trials was serious asthma-related events (hospitalizations, intubations, death). A blinded adjudication committee determined whether events were asthma related. The 3 adult and adolescent trials were designed to rule out a risk margin of 2.0, and the pediatric trial was designed to rule out a risk margin of 2.7. Each individual trial met its pre-specified objective and demonstrated non-inferiority of ICS/LABA to ICS alone. A meta-analysis of the 3 adult and adolescent trials did not show a significant increase in risk of a serious asthma-related event with ICS/LABA fixed-dose combination compared with ICS alone ( Table 1 ). These trials were not designed to rule out all risk for serious asthma-related events with ICS/LABA compared with ICS. Table 1. Meta-analysis of Serious Asthma-Related Events in Subjects with Asthma Aged 12 Years and Older ICS = Inhaled Corticosteroid, LABA = Long-acting Beta 2 -adrenergic Agonist. a Randomized subjects who had taken at least 1 dose of study drug. Planned treatment used for analysis. b Estimated using a Cox proportional hazards model for time to first event with baseline hazards stratified by each of the 3 trials. c Number of subjects with event that occurred within 6 months after the first use of study drug or 7 days after the last date of study drug, whichever date was later. Subjects can have one or more events, but only the first event was counted for analysis. A single, blinded, independent adjudication committee determined whether events were asthma related. ICS/LABA (n = 17,537) a ICS (n = 17,552) a ICS/LABA vs. ICS Hazard Ratio (95% CI) b Serious asthma-related event c 116 105 1.10 (0.85, 1.44) Asthma-related death 2 0 Asthma-related intubation (endotracheal) 1 2 Asthma-related hospitalization (≥24-hour stay) 115 105 The pediatric safety trial included 6,208 pediatric subjects aged 4 to 11 years who received ICS/LABA (fluticasone propionate/salmeterol inhalation powder) or ICS (fluticasone propionate inhalation powder). In this trial, 27/3,107 (0.9%) subjects randomized to ICS/LABA and 21/3,101 (0.7%) subjects randomized to ICS experienced a serious asthma-related event. There were no asthma-related deaths or intubations. ICS/LABA did not show a significantly increased risk of a serious asthma-related event compared with ICS based on the pre-specified risk margin (2.7), with an estimated hazard ratio of time to first event of 1.29 (95% CI: 0.73, 2.27). Salmeterol Multicenter Asthma Research Trial (SMART) A 28-week, placebo-controlled, U.S. trial that compared the safety of salmeterol with placebo, each added to usual asthma therapy, showed an increase in asthma-related deaths in subjects receiving salmeterol (13/13,176 in subjects treated with salmeterol versus 3/13,179 in subjects treated with placebo; relative risk: 4.37 [95% CI: 1.25, 15.34]). Use of background ICS was not required in SMART. The increased risk of asthma-related death is considered a class effect of LABA monotherapy. 5.2 Deterioration of Disease and Acute Episodes Fluticasone Propionate/Salmeterol DISKUS should not be initiated in patients during rapidly deteriorating or potentially life-threatening episodes of asthma or COPD. Fluticasone Propionate/Salmeterol DISKUS has not been studied in subjects with acutely deteriorating asthma or COPD. The initiation of Fluticasone Propionate/Salmeterol DISKUS in this setting is not appropriate. Serious acute respiratory events, including fatalities, have been reported when salmeterol, a component of Fluticasone Propionate/Salmeterol DISKUS, has been initiated in patients with significantly worsening or acutely deteriorating asthma. In most cases, these have occurred in patients with severe asthma (e.g., patients with a history of corticosteroid dependence, low pulmonary function, intubation, mechanical ventilation, frequent hospitalizations, previous life‑threatening acute asthma exacerbations) and in some patients with acutely deteriorating ast