What You Should Tell the Doctor before Starting Etanercept
You should tell your doctor if you:
- are pregnant or plan on becoming pregnant
- are breast-feeding
- have problems with your immune system (HIV/AIDS)
- have a history of heart failure
- have a history of cancer
- have tuberculosis, have had it, or have been recently exposed to it; you will need to have a tuberculosis skin test done; if you have tuberculosis, you will need medication to treat the tuberculosis before you start etanercept therapy to prevent worsening of your tuberculosis
- have had a recent severe infection, or are prone to infections or recurring infections
- are taking any other medications or herbal supplements
- have an allergy to etanercept or any of its components
- have problems or diseases with the nervous system such as multiple sclerosis; if you experience any numbness, tingling, or visual changes before, during, or after eranercept treatment, you should tell your doctor; a small number of patients who have received etanercept have experienced a worsening in their multiple sclerosis and other rare diseases of the nervous system
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| Before Using Etanercept |
What You Should Tell the Doctor While Taking Etanercept
If you develop any of the following while taking etanercept, you should contact your doctor immediately:
Infections: If you develop an infection or symptoms of an infection, you might need to stop taking etanercept; contact your doctor. If your doctor gives you a treatment for an infection, it should be taken right away and as prescribed. Treatment with etanercept should be stopped if you develop a serious infection. Symptoms may include fever, fatigue, and/or a cough.
Other symptoms could include a raised, hot, red area of skin that is spreading. If you feel unwell but do not have a fever, it is still important to tell your doctor. Since etanercept can suppress your immune system, your body may not respond to an infection with a fever as it would normally.
If your doctor gives you treatment for an infection, it should be taken right away and as prescribed. The treatment with etanercept 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 or swelling of your feet, ankles, or calves.
If you develop cancer: Tell your doctor right away. Etanercept can suppress the immune system, which is important in fighting cancer.
Vaccination: You should not receive live vaccines while taking etanercept. Tell your doctor if you need a vaccine.
What Side Effects Can Etanercept Cause?
In clinical studies done in psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, etanercept 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 injection becomes red and itchy; it 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 etanercept. Many of these patients were on other immunosuppressant medication at that time or had been in the past. In addition, they also 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 etanercept will increase a patient's risk of lymphoma.
Cancers, heart failure, and neurological events were rarely reported in patients taking etanercept. It is not clear how and if etanercept has caused these rare side effects.
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| Before Using Etanercept |
How Do You Store Etanercept?
Etanercept is provided in a vial in a dose tray in powder form. After mixing the powder with solution, refrigerate it right away (36°- 46°F/2° - 8°C). Once a vial of etanercept has opened, it must be used within the next fourteen days.
It is important to check the expiration date stamped on the carton, dose tray label, and vial label. If any of the labels is past the expiration date, do not use. To find out more, you can check out Before Using Etanercept.