(ri TUX i mab) Brand: Rituxan
• You must not receive this medicine if you have ever had a severe allergic reaction to rituximab.
• Some side effects may occur during the injection (or within 24 hours after the medication is injected into the vein). Tell your caregiver right away if you feel dizzy, weak, light-headed, short of breath, or if you have chest pain, wheezing, sudden cough, or pounding heartbeats or fluttering in your chest.
• Rituximab may reason a serious viral infection of the brain that can lead to disability or death. Call your doctor right away if you have any change in your mental state, decreased vision, or problems with speech or walking. These symptoms may start gradually and get worse quickly.
• Also call your doctor right away if you have signs of tumor lysis syndrome (caused by the breakdown of cancer cells). Symptoms include numbness or tingly feeling near your mouth, muscle weakness or tightness, overactive reflexes, slow heart course, weak pulse, lower back pain, blood in your urine, or few or no urinating.
• Severe skin problems can also occur during treatment with rituximab. Call your doctor if you have painful skin or mouth sores, or a severe skin rash with blistering, peeling, or pus.
• Rituximab is a cancer medicine that interferes with the growth and spread of cancer cells in the body.
• Rituximab is used to treat non-Hodgkin's lymphoma or chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Rituximab is also used in combination with other drug called methotrexate to treat symptoms of adult rheumatoid arthritis.
• Rituximab is also used in combination with steroid medicines to treat determined rare disorders that reason inflammation of blood vessels and another tissues in the body.
• Rituximab may also be used for purposes not listed in this medicine guide.
• You must not receive this medicine if you have ever had a severe allergic reaction to rituximab, or if you are allergic to mouse protein.
• To create certain rituximab is safety for you, speak your doctor if you have:
· liver malady or hepatitis B (or if you are a carrier of hepatitis B);
· kidney disease;
· systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE);
· lung malady or a breathing disorder;
· a weak immune system (caused by malady or by using determined medicines);
· a last or active infection, including herpes, shingles, cytomegalovirus, chickenpox, parvovirus, West Nile virus, hepatitis C, or any infection that keeps coming back or does not clear up;
· a history of heart malady, angina (chest pain), or heart rhythm mess; or
· if you have used determined arthritis medicines in the past, including adalimumab (Humira), certolizumab (Cimzia), golimumab (Simponi), etanercept (Enbrel), or infliximab (Remicade).
• FDA pregnancy category C. It is not known whether rituximab will harm an unborn child. Rituximab can affect the immune system of a newborn if the mother receives the medicine during pregnancy. Speak your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. Use effective birth control while you are using this medicine and for at least 12 months after your treatment ends.
• It is not known whether rituximab passes into breast milk or if it could harm a nursing child. Speak your doctor if you are breast-feeding a baby.
• Rituximab is injected into a vein through an IV. A healthcare provider will give you this injection. Follow your doctor's dosing instructions very carefully.
• Till you receive rituximab, you may be given another medications to prevent determined side effects that rituximab can cause.
• While using rituximab, you may need frequent blood tests.
• If you need surgery, speak the surgeon onward of time that you are using rituximab.
• If you have hepatitis B you may develop liver symptoms after you stop using this medicine, even months after stopping. Your doctor may want to check your liver function for different months after you stop using rituximab.
• Call your doctor if you miss an appointment for your rituximab injection.
• Since this medicine is given by a healthcare professional in a medical setting, an overdose is unlikely to occur.
• Do not receive a "live" vaccine while using rituximab, and avoid coming into contact with anyone who has recently received a live vaccine. There is a chance that the virus could be passed on to you. Live vaccines include measles, mumps, rubella (MMR), rotavirus, typhoid, yellow fever, varicella (chickenpox), zoster (shingles), and nasal flu (influenza) vaccine.
• Get abnormal medical help if you have any of these signs of an allergic reaction: hives; chest tightness, trouble breathing; swelling of your person, lips, tongue, or throat.
• Some side effects may occur during the injection (or within 24 hours after the medication is injected into the vein). Tell your caregiver right away if you feel dizzy, weak, light-headed, short of breath, or if you have chest pain, wheezing, sudden cough, or pounding heartbeats or fluttering in your chest.
• Rituximab may reason a serious viral infection of the brain that can lead to disability or death. Call your doctor right away if you have any change in your mental state, decreased vision, or problems with speech or walking. These symptoms may start gradually and get worse quickly.
• Call your doctor at once if you have any of these another side effects, even if they occur different months after you receive rituximab, or after your treatment ends.
· fever, chills, flu symptoms, pale skin, light bruising or bleeding, feeling weak or tired;
· ongoing cough, sinus pain, or breathing problems;
· ongoing diarrhea and weight loss;
· headache, earache, warmth or swelling with skin redness;
· severe skin reaction--painful skin or mouth sores, or a severe skin rash with blistering, peeling, or pus;
· pain or burning when you urinate; or
· signs of tumor lysis syndrome (caused by the breakdown of cancer cells)--numbness or tingly feeling near your mouth, muscle weakness or tightness, overactive reflexes, slow heart course, weak pulse, lower back pain, blood in your urine, few or no urinating.
• General side effects may include:
· runny or stuffy nose, sneezing;
· nausea, diarrhea;
· muscle pain;
· headache; or
· swelling in your hands or feet.
• This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may message side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.
• Another drugs may interact with rituximab, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal commodity. Speak every of your health care providers about all medicines you use now and any medication you start or stop using.
• Your doctor or pharmacist can provide more information about rituximab.
Remember, hold this and all another medicines out of the reach of children, never share your medicines with others, and use this medicine only for the indication prescribed.
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