Description
Humira Uses
HUMIRA (adalimumab injection) is indicated for the treatment of :
Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA): Reducing signs and symptoms, inducing major clinical response, inhibiting the progression of structural damage, and improving physical function in adult patients with moderately to severely active RA.
Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA): Reducing signs and symptoms of moderately to severely active polyarticular JIA in patients 2 years of age and older.
Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA): Reducing signs and symptoms, inhibiting the progression of structural damage, and improving physical function in adult patients with active PsA.
Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS): Reducing signs and symptoms in adult patients with active AS.
Adult Crohn’s Disease (CD): Reducing signs and symptoms and inducing and maintaining clinical remission in adult patients with moderately to severely active Crohn’s disease who have had an inadequate response to conventional therapy. Reducing signs and symptoms and inducing clinical remission in these patients if they have also lost response to or are intolerant to infliximab.
Pediatric Crohn’s Disease: Reducing signs and symptoms and inducing and maintaining clinical remission in patients 6 years of age and older with moderately to severely active Crohn’s disease who have had an inadequate response to corticosteroids or immunomodulators such as azathioprine, 6-mercaptopurine, or methotrexate.
Ulcerative Colitis (UC): Inducing and sustaining clinical remission in adult patients with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis who have had an inadequate response to immunosuppressants such as corticosteroids, azathioprine or 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP). The effectiveness of HUMIRA has not been established in patients who have lost response to or were intolerant to TNF blockers.
Dosage: Adalimumab is administered by subcutaneous injection. The recommended dose of Adalimumab for adult patients with rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, or Ankylosing spondylitis is 40 mg administered every other week. The recommended Adalimumab dose regimen for adult patients with Crohn’s disease is 160 mg initially at Day 1 (administered as four 40 mg injections in one day or as two 40 mg injections per day for two consecutive days), followed by 80 mg two weeks later (Day 15). Two weeks later (Day 29) began a maintenance dose of 40 mg every other week. The recommended dose of Adalimumab for adult patients with plaque psoriasis is an initial dose of 80 mg, followed by 40 mg given every other week starting one week after the initial dose.
Side Effects: The most commonly reported adalimumab side effects include:
- Rash
- Sinusitis
- Cytopenia
- Headache
- Heart failure
- Lupus-like syndrome
- Upper respiratory infection
- Injection site reaction
Warnings and Precautions:
- Humira is not recommended in case of any active infection as it can cause severe infection.
- During ongoing therapy of inj adalimumab 40 mg the patient is seen suffering from lymphoma causing fatalities.
- During Humira therapy, serious hypersensitivity reactions may occur.
- During or after the therapy there are chances of reactivation of the hepatitis B virus.
- If the patient developed cytopenias or pancytopenia then the use of humira injection should be discontinued immediately.
- If lupus-like syndrome occurs then the use of Humira should be stopped.
