and fully abatacept (Intravenous route, Subcutaneous route) a-BAT-a-sept Overview Side Effects Dosage Professional Interactions More Pregnancy Warnings Breastfeeding Warnings User Reviews Support Group Q & A Commonly used brand name(s) In the U.S. Orencia Available Dosage Forms: Solution Powder for Solution Therapeutic Class: Antirheumatic Slideshow Top 11 Truths About Narcotic Painkiller Meds Uses For abatacept Abatacept injection is used alone or together with other medicines to reduce the signs and symptoms of moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. Abatacept helps keep joint damage from getting worse after other medicines have been used and did not work well. Abatacept injection is also used alone or together with methotrexate in children 2 years of age and older for moderate to severe juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Abatacept injection is also used alone or together with other medicines to treat psoriatic arthritis (PsA), which is a type of arthritis that causes pain and swelling in the joints along with patches of scaly skin on some areas of the body. abatacept is available only with your doctor's prescription. Before Using abatacept In deciding to use a medicine, the risks of taking the medicine must be weighed against the good it will do. This is a decision you and your doctor will make. For abatacept, the following should be considered: Allergies Tell your doctor if you have ever had any unusual or allergic reaction to abatacept or any other medicines. Also tell your health care professional if you have any other types of allergies, such as to foods, dyes, preservatives, or animals. For non-prescription products, read the label or package ingredients carefully. Pediatric Appropriate studies performed to date have not demonstrated pediatric-specific problems that would limit the usefulness of abatacept injection in children with JIA. However, safety and efficacy have not been established in children younger than 2 years of age. Geriatric Appropriate studies performed to date have not demonstrated geriatric-specific problems that would limit the usefulness of abatacept injection in the elderly. However, elderly patients are more likely to have cancer and serious infections, which may require caution in patients receiving abatacept injection. Breast Feeding There are no adequate studies in women for determining infant risk when using this medication during breastfeeding. Weigh the potential benefits against the potential risks before taking this medication while breastfeeding. Interactions with Medicines Although certain medicines should not be used together at all, in other cases two different medicines may be used together even if an interaction might occur. In these cases, your doctor may want to change the dose, or other precautions may be necessary. When you are taking abatacept, it is especially important that your healthcare professional know if you are taking any of the medicines listed below. The following interactions have been selected on the basis of their potential significance and are not necessarily all-inclusive. Using abatacept with any of the following medicines is usually not recommended, but may be required in some cases. If both medicines are prescribed together, your doctor may change the dose or how often you use one or both of the medicines. Adalimumab Anakinra Etanercept Golimumab Infliximab Using abatacept with any of the following medicines may cause an increased risk of certain side effects, but using both drugs may be the best treatment for you. If both medicines are prescribed together, your doctor may change the dose or how often you use one or both of the medicines. Adenovirus Vaccine Type 4, Live Adenovirus Vaccine Type 7, Live Bacillus of Calmette and Guerin Vaccine, Live Influenza Virus Vaccine, Live Measles Virus Vaccine, Live Mumps Virus Vaccine, Live Poliovirus Vaccine, Live Rotavirus Vaccine, Live Rubella Virus Vaccine, Live Smallpox Vaccine Typhoid Vaccine Varicella Virus Vaccine Yellow Fever Vaccine Interactions with Food/Tobacco/Alcohol Certain medicines should not be used at or around the time of eating food or eating certain types of food since interactions may occur. Using alcohol or tobacco with certain medicines may also cause interactions to occur. Discuss with your healthcare professional the use of your medicine with food, alcohol, or tobacco. Other Medical Problems The presence of other medical problems may affect the use of abatacept. Make sure you tell your doctor if you have any other medical problems, especially: Cancer or Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) Use with caution. May make these conditions worse. Infections (eg, hepatitis B, bacteria, virus, fungus), active or history of or Tuberculosis, active or history of Patients with these conditions may have an increased chance of side effects. Proper Use of abatacept A nurse or other trained health professional will give you or your child abatacept. abatacept is given as a shot under your skin or into a vein. If abatacept is given through a vein in your arm, it must be injected by your doctor slowly and your IV tube will need to stay in place for 30 minutes. You will receive abatacept again at 2 weeks and 4 weeks after your first dose and then every 4 weeks after. Abatacept may be also given as a shot under your skin . It may sometimes be given at home to patients who do not need to be in the hospital. If you or your child are using abatacept at home, your doctor or nurse will teach you how to prepare and inject the medicine. Be sure that you understand exactly how to use the medicine. abatacept comes with patient instructions. Read and follow these instructions carefully. Ask your doctor or pharmacist if you have any questions. If you use abatacept at home, you will be shown the body areas where this shot can be given. Use a different body area each time you give yourself or your child a shot. Keep track of where you give each shot to make sure you rotate body areas. This will help prevent skin problems. abatacept is available in 3 forms: a vial (glass container), a prefilled syringe, or a ClickJect autoinjector. The prefilled syringe and ClickJect autoinjector are the dosage forms you can use at home. Check the liquid in the prefilled syringe or ClickJect autoinjector. It should be clear and colorless or slightly yellow. Do not use it if it is cloudy, discolored, or if you see particles in it. Do not use the prefilled syringe or ClickJect autoinjector if it looks cracked or broken. Allow 30 minutes for the syringe to warm up to room temperature. Do not warm abatacept in any other way. Do not remove the needle cover on the prefilled syringe or the autoinjector cap while allowing the medicine to reach room temperature. Remove only if ready to use. Check that the amount of liquid in the prefilled syringe falls at or just above the fill line. If the syringe does not have the right amount of liquid, do not use it. Do not inject into skin areas that are red, bruised, tender, scaly, or hard, or have scars or stretch marks. Dosing The dose of abatacept will be different for different patients. Follow your doctor's orders or the directions on the label. The following information includes only the average doses of abatacept. If your dose is different, do not change it unless your doctor tells you to do so. The amount of medicine that you take depends on the strength of the medicine. Also, the number of doses you take each day, the time allowed between doses, and the length of time you take the medicine depend on the medical problem for which you are using the medicine. For injection dosage form: For juvenile idiopathic arthritis: Children 2 years of age or older and weighs 50 kilograms (kg) or more 125 milligrams (mg) injected under your skin once a week. Children 2 years of age or older and weighs 25 kg to less than 50 kg 87.5 mg injected under your skin once a week. Children 2 years of age or older and weighs 10 kg to less than 25 kg 50 mg injected under your skin once a week. Children younger than 2 years of age Use and dose must be determined by your doctor. For moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis: Adults 125 milligrams (mg) injected under your skin once a week. Some patients may need to have an intravenous loading dose, followed by the first 125 mg injected under your skin within a day of intravenous injection. Children Use and dose must be determined by your doctor. For psoriatic arthritis: Adults 125 milligrams (mg) injected under your skin once a week. Children Use and dose must be determined by your doctor. Missed Dose abatacept needs to be given on a fixed schedule. If you miss a dose or forget to use your medicine, call your doctor or pharmacist for instructions. Storage Store in the refrigerator. Do not freeze. Keep out of the reach of children. Do not keep outdated medicine or medicine no longer needed. Ask your healthcare professional how you should dispose of any medicine you do not use. Throw away used needles in a hard, closed container where the needles cannot poke through. Keep this container away from children and pets. Precautions While Using abatacept It is very important that your doctor check the progress of you or your child at regular visits to make sure that abatacept is working properly. Blood tests may be needed to check for unwanted effects. Your body's ability to fight infection may be reduced while you are being treated with abatacept. Check with your doctor right away if you or your child has any of the following symptoms while using abatacept: fever, chills, cough or hoarseness, flu-like symptoms, lower back or side pain, painful or difficult urination, or unusual tiredness or weakness. abatacept may cause serious allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis. This can be life-threatening and requires immediate medical attention. Check with your doctor right away if you or your child has a rash, itching, swelling of the face, tongue, and throat, trouble with breathing, lightheadedness or fainting, or chest pain after you receive the medicine. You or your child will need to have a skin test for tuberculosis before you start using abatacept. Tell your doctor if you or anyone in your home has ever had a positive reaction to a tuberculosis skin test. While you are being treated with abatacept injection or within 3 months after using it, do not have any immunizations (vaccines) without your doctor's approval. Your child's vaccines need to be current before he or she begins receiving abatacept injection. Be sure to ask your child's doctor if you have any questions about this. abatacept contains maltose (a type of sugar) which may affect blood sugar levels. If you or your child have diabetes and you notice a change in the results of your blood sugar tests or if you have any questions, check with your doctor. Your doctor may need you to use a different test for your blood sugar levels. Do not take other medicines for arthritis unless you talked to your doctor. This includes adalimumab (Humira ), anakinra (Kineret ), certolizumab (Cimzia ), etanercept (Enbrel ), golimumab (Simponi ), infliximab (Remicade ), rituximab (Rituxan ), or tocilizumab (Actemra ). Using any of these together with abatacept may increase your chance of having serious side effects . abatacept Side Effects Along with its needed effects, a medicine may cause some unwanted effects. Although not all of these side effects may occur, if they do occur they may need medical attention. Check with your doctor or nurse immediately if any of the following side effects occur: More common Back pain bladder pain bloody or cloudy urine body aches or pain chills cough cough producing mucus difficult or labored breathing difficult, burning, or painful urination dizziness ear congestion fever frequent urge to urinate headache loss of voice lower back or side pain nausea or vomiting noisy breathing pain or tenderness around the eyes and cheekbones sneezing sore throat stuffy or runny nose tightness of the chest troubled breathing unusual tiredness or weakness Less common Blurred vision burning or stinging of the skin chest pain nervousness painful cold sores or blisters on the lips, nose, eyes, or genitals pounding in the ears skin rash slow or fast heartbeat Rare Confusion difficulty with swallowing dizziness, faintness, or lightheadedness when getting up suddenly from a lying or sitting position flushing hives or welts itching, pain, redness, swelling, tenderness, or warmth on the skin stomach pain or tenderness sweating swelling of the face, throat, or tongue Incidence not known Redness, soreness, or itching of the skin sores, welts, blisters Some side effects may occur that usually do not need medical attention. These side effects may go away during treatment as your body adjusts to the medicine. Also, your health care professional may be able to tell you about ways to prevent or reduce some of these side effects. Check with your health care professional if any of the following side effects continue or are bothersome or if you have any questions about them: More common Belching bleeding, blistering, burning, coldness, discoloration of the skin, feeling of pressure, hives, infection, inflammation, itching, lumps, numbness, pain, rash, redness, scarring, soreness, stinging, swelling, tenderness, tingling, ulceration, or warmth at the injection site heartburn indigestion stomach discomfort or upset Less common Diarrhea pain in the arms or legs Other side effects not listed may also occur in some patients. If you notice any other effects, check with your healthcare professional. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to the FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088. Side Effects (complete list) The information contained in the Truven Health Micromedex products as delivered by Drugs.com is intended as an educational aid only. It is not intended as medical advice for individual conditions or treatment. It is not a substitute for a medical exam, nor does it replace the need for services provided by medical professionals. Talk to your doctor, nurse or pharmacist before taking any prescription or over the counter drugs (including any herbal medicines or supplements) or following any treatment or regimen. Only your doctor, nurse, or pharmacist can provide you with advice on what is safe and effective for you. The use of the Truven Health products is at your sole risk. These products are provided "AS IS" and "as available" for use, without warranties of any kind, either express or implied. Truven Health and Drugs.com make no representation or warranty as to the accuracy, reliability, timeliness, usefulness or completeness of any of the information contained in the products. Additionally, TRUVEN HEALTH MAKES NO REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTIES AS TO THE OPINIONS OR OTHER SERVICE OR DATA YOU MAY ACCESS, DOWNLOAD OR USE AS A RESULT OF USE OF THE THOMSON REUTERS HEALTHCARE PRODUCTS. ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE ARE HEREBY EXCLUDED. Truven Health does not assume any responsibility or risk for your use of the Truven Health products. Copyright 2017 Truven Health Analytics, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Next Side Effects Print this page Add to My Med List More about abatacept Side Effects During Pregnancy or Breastfeeding Dosage Information Drug Interactions Support Group En Español 29 Reviews Add your own review/rating Drug class: antirheumatics Consumer resources Abatacept Abatacept Auto-Injectors Abatacept Infusion Abatacept Prefilled Syringes Other brands: Orencia Professional resources Abatacept (AHFS Monograph) Abatacept (Wolters Kluwer) Related treatment guides Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis Psoriatic Arthritis Rheumatoid Arthritis} Drug Status Rx Availability Prescription only C Pregnancy Category Risk cannot be ruled out N/A CSA Schedule Not a controlled drug Approval History Drug history at FDA Drug Class Antirheumatics Selective immunosuppressants Related Drugs Rheumatoid Arthritis Humira , hydroxychloroquine , Plaquenil , sulfasalazine , leflunomide , Enbrel , Remicade , Rituxan , More... Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis Humira , methotrexate , Enbrel , adalimumab , Orencia , Actemra , etanercept , abatacept , More... Psoriatic Arthritis prednisone , Humira , triamcinolone , methotrexate , dexamethasone , Enbrel , Decadron , Remicade , More... Abatacept Rating 29 User Reviews 6.6 /10 29 User Reviews 6.6 Rate it! Related Questions & Answers Abatacept - I am loosing mental and physical function. No aid for inflamation a lot of pain. I? Read more questions} } it also includes
features abatacept (Intravenous route, Subcutaneous route) seem to be
EmoticonEmoticon