What should you tell your doctor while receiving adalimumab?
If you develop any of the following while taking adalimumab, you should contact your doctor immediately:
Infections: If you develop an infection or symptoms of an infection, you might need to stop taking adalimumab, so contact your doctor. If your doctor gives you a treatment for infection, it should be taken right away and as prescribed. Treatment with adalimumab should be stopped if you develop a serious infection. Symptoms may include fever, fatigue, and/or a cough.
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| Adalimumab Side Effects |
Other symptoms could include a raised, hot, red area of the skin that is spreading. If you feel unwell, but do not have a fever, it is important to tell your doctor. As adalimumab can suppress your immune system, your body may not respond to an infection with a fever as it normally would. If your doctor gives you treatment for an infection, it should be taken right away and as prescribed. The treatment with adalimumab should be stopped if you develop a serious infection.
Symptoms of heart failure: Tell your doctor immediately if you develop new or worsening symptoms of heart failure, such as shortness of breath, swelling of your feet, ankles, or calves.
If you develop cancer: Tell your doctor right away. Adalimumab can suppress the immune system, which is important in fighting cancer.
Vaccination: You should not receive live vaccines while taking adalimumab. Tell your doctor if you need a vaccine.
What Side Effects Can Adalimumab Cause?
In clinical studies done in psoriasis and psoriatic arthristis, adalimumab was generally well tolerated. The most common side effects included:
- reaction at the injection site (redness or swelling); Approximately one-third of patients can have an injection site reaction where the skin at the site of the injection becomes red and itchy, which will generally go away on its own, but if it progresses, you should contact your doctor
- cold (upper respiratory tract infection)
- headaches
- flu-like symptoms
Higher rates of lymphoma were reported in patients receiving adalimumab. Many of these patients were on other immunosuppressive medications at the time or had been on them in the past. In addition, they had other medical conditions, e.g., rheumatoid arthritis. Because these factors could have predisposed them to developing a lymphoma, it is unclear how and if adalimumab will increase the patient's risk of lymphoma. Cancers, heart failure, and neurological events were rarely reported in patients taking adalimumab. It is not clear how and if adalimumab have caused these rare side effects.
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| Adalimumab Side Effects |
How Do You Store Adalimumab?
Adalimumab is provided in prefilled syringes and prefilled pens. Cartons of adalimumab should be refrigerated at 36° - 46°F (2° - 8°C) and protected from light until the time of administration. It is important not to use adalimumab beyond the expiration date. To find out more, you can check out Adalimumab Side Effects.