"Remicade" preparation: instructions for use, reviews

Is Remicade effective? Instructions for use, patients' reviews of this drug will be presented below. Also from this article you will learn about the cases when this medication is prescribed, whether it has contraindications and undesirable effects, what components are included in its composition and so on.

Form, composition

The drug "Remicade" is available in the form of a lyophilized powder intended for the preparation of an infusion solution. The active substance of this drug is infliximab. It also contains additional components in the form of polysorbate 80, sodium hydrogen phosphate dihydrate, sucrose and sodium dihydrogen phosphate monohydrate.

Basic properties

What is a remicate remedy? Instruction for use says that this is an immunosuppressive.

Entering the body, the drug begins to interact with the soluble and transmembrane forms of tumor necrosis of alpha (TNFα), reducing their activity through the formation of a stable complex.

Studies of specialists indicate that the active substance of the drug reduces cellular infiltration (inflammatory), as well as the number of inflammatory markers in the affected areas of the gut. In this case, a fairly rapid healing of its mucosa occurs.

Pharmacokinetics of the drug

What pharmacokinetic parameters does Remicade medication have? The instruction, the reviews state that a single intravenous injection of infliximab in an amount up to 20 mg / kg is accompanied by a proportional increase in its maximum concentration.

Repeated use of the drug causes a small accumulation of the active substance in the blood serum.

Routes of excretion of this drug have not been determined.

Indications for use

What is the purpose of the Remicade medication? The use of this medication is indicated in the following cases:

• Rheumatoid arthritis in active form (if treatment of patients with basic anti-inflammatory drugs was ineffective). Therapy is carried out in combination with Methotrexate. This combination allows to reduce the signs of the disease, as well as improve the condition of the joints as a whole.
• Crohn's disease in adult patients. How does "Remicade" help in this case? The instruction says that therapy with this drug should be carried out with intolerance or inefficiency, as well as in the presence of contraindications to standard drugs. With this diagnosis, "Remicade helps to eliminate all signs of the disease, maintain remission and quickly heal wounds, close fistulas and improve the patient's condition.
• Crohn's disease in adolescents. Treatment with this drug is performed with intolerance or inefficiency, as well as in the presence of contraindications to the standard therapy regimen. Remikade medication reduces the symptoms of the disease, supports remission and improves the quality of life of young patients.
• Colitis is ulcerative in adults. The drug "Remicade", reviews of which are presented below, is prescribed in the event that the usual therapy was ineffective. Treatment with this drug helps to reduce the signs of the disease, healing the intestinal mucosa, reducing dosages or abolishing GCS. It should also be noted that after the appointment of this remedy there is no need for a patient to stay in the hospital.
• Colitis is ulcerative in children. Treatment with this drug is prescribed for children aged 6-18 years, in the event that conventional therapy has proved ineffective.
• Ankylosing spondylitis (if standard therapy is ineffective). How does a Remicade medication help with this diagnosis? Instruction for use reports that this tool reduces the signs of the disease and improves the joints.
• Psoriasis (with ineffective standard therapy). How does "Remicade" help with psoriasis? Experts say that this drug reduces inflammation on the skin and normalizes the processes of keratinocyte differentiation.
• Arthritis is psoriatic (with ineffective standard therapy). Medication "Remicade" is prescribed in combination with "Methotrexate" or as a monotherapy in the presence of contraindications or intolerance of the latter. As a result of treatment, symptoms of arthritis decrease, the functional activity of patients improves, and the degree of radiologic progression in psoriatic polyarthritis decreases.

Contraindications

Treatment with "Remicade" is prohibited when:

• Severe infectious process (for example, sepsis, abscess, tuberculosis, opportunistic infections) ;
• Increased sensitivity of the patient to infliximab, as well as mouse proteins and any other components of the drug;
• At the age of up to 6 years (with colitis ulcer and Crohn's disease);
• Pregnancy;
• Heart failure;
• Under the age of 18;
• At thoracal feeding.

Remikade: instructions for use. And where to enter (only in a hospital)?

The drug should be administered only under the supervision of a specialist (that is, in a hospital), who has sufficient experience in diagnosing and successfully treating the above diseases.

The solution is injected intravenously intravenously for 120 minutes. At the same time, the speed should not exceed 2 ml per minute. It is necessary to carry out the procedures with the use of the infusion system.

The dosage of the drug depends on the indications.

Rheumatoid arthritis

With this diagnosis, the initial single dose should be 3 mg per kg. The medication is administered again after 3-6 weeks. Then it is used every two months.

In the event that the therapeutic effect has not been achieved, consider the issue of discontinuing therapy.

Usually the drug "Remicade" with rheumatoid arthritis is prescribed together with "Methotrexate".

Ulcerative colitis

The initial dosage with this diagnosis is 5 mg per kg of body weight. In the same dose, the drug is administered after 3-6 weeks. Then the treatment is carried out every two months.

If necessary, the dose can be increased to 10 mg per kg. The effect of therapy is usually observed within 14 weeks. In the event that it is absent, you should continue treatment.

Psoriatic arthritis

With psoriatic arthritis, the drug "Remicade" is prescribed in an initial dose of 5 mg per kg. The medication is administered again after 3-6 weeks. Then it is used every 7-8 weeks.

You can prescribe medication in combination with Methotrexate.

Crohn's disease

With this diagnosis, single doses equal to 5 mg per kg are indicated for adults. If the therapeutic effect was not achieved within 2 weeks, the drug is canceled.

With the positive effect of the drug, the following schemes are possible:

• The solution is administered in the same dose as in the first infusion, and after 3-6 weeks is used repeatedly. After that, injections are done every two months. If required, the dosage can be increased to 10 mg per kg.
• The medication is administered only if relapses, if no more than 16 weeks have elapsed after the first use.

Crohn's disease in young children

Crohn's disease of moderate or severe severity in children under 18 suggests an initial dose of 5 mg per kg. Follow-up injections should be done after 3-6 weeks. Then the medication is used every two months. If required, the dosage is adjusted to 10 mg per kg.

As a rule, such medicine is combined with immunomodulators of 6-mercaptopurine, "Azathioprine" or "Methotrexate". If the therapeutic effect has not been achieved (for 10-11 weeks), then the use of the drug is undesirable.

Crohn's disease accompanied by fistulas

A single dose of the drug with this diagnosis is 5 mg per kg (in adults). The medication is reused after 3-6 weeks. If the therapeutic effect after 3 injections is not observed, then further treatment is impractical.

With the positive effect of the drug the following schemes are possible:

• Re-introduction after 3-6 weeks, and then every two months;
• The medication is administered if relapsed if less than 16 weeks have elapsed.

Ankylosing spondylitis

How do you use Remikade medication with this diagnosis? Instruction for use states that with this disease, the initial dosage of the drug should be 5 mg per kg. After this, the drug is administered after 3-6 weeks.

Treatment should not continue if the effect is not noticeable for one and a half months.

Psoriasis

In the treatment of psoriasis, the initial dose of the drug is 5 mg per kg. Repeated use of the drug is prescribed after 3-6 weeks, and then every eight weeks.

The process of preparing a solution for infusions

The solution must be prepared according to the following scheme:

• The dose and the number of vials are calculated.
• The medicinal powder is dissolved in 10 ml of liquid using a syringe. To do this, remove the lid (plastic) from the solvent bottle and wipe the plug with alcohol. The needle is introduced through its center, and the liquid is guided along the wall.
• The solution is thoroughly mixed (rotational movements) until the powder dissolves. The drug must be either colorless or yellow. If foam forms during the mixing, the solution should be insisted for 5 minutes. Semi-transparent fine particles may be present in the finished product.
• The total volume of the drug is adjusted with 0.9% sodium chloride solution (up to 250 ml). To do this, the prepared liquid is added to the bottle, where sodium chloride is already contained. Both components are thoroughly mixed.
• The preparation is administered no later than 3 hours after the preparation of the drug solution.

It is forbidden to administer the medication together with other agents through the same system. If in a solution there are extraneous inclusions or opaque particles, then it is not recommended to use it.

The unused amount of the drug must be disposed of.

Side effects

When using medicament, the following adverse reactions are possible:

• Depression, apathy, increased anxiety, dizziness, drowsiness, nervousness, amnesia, psychosis, headache;
• Pulmonary edema, sinusitis, bronchospasm, dyspnea, allergic reactions, pneumonia, nasal bleeding, bronchitis, pleurisy;
• Conjunctivitis, keratoconjunctivitis, endophthalmitis;
• Edema and urinary tract infections;
• Tidal disorders of peripheral circulation, bradycardia, ecchymosis, hematoma, vasospasm, syncope, palpitation, cyanosis, petechiae, arrhythmia;
• Thrombocytopenia, anemia, neutrocytopenia, leukocytopenia, lymphocytopenia, lymphadenopathy, lymphocytosis;
• Cheilitis, constipation, cholecystitis, reflux, diverticulitis, diarrhea, nausea, indigestion, impaired liver function;
• Skin rash, dry skin, alopecia, seborrhea, itchy skin, furunculosis, urticaria, increased sweating, dermatitis fungus, warts, hyperkeratosis, erysipelas, skin pigmentation disorder, bullous rash.

Reviews about the drug

Now you know how to use the drug "Remicade". Instructions for use of the medicament have been described above.

In most cases, the tool in question copes with the task. Therefore, reviews from patients are mostly positive. People who use this solution report that after the injection they are almost completely gone. However, some patients are afraid of addiction, which it can cause.