Talking to your patients about INFERGEN® (Interferon Alfacon-1)
Checklist of key points
Doctors: support your Nurse Practitioner and Physician Assistant efforts to counsel patients about INFERGEN and interferon therapy. Contact Customer Service at 1-800-405-8506, M-F, 8 am to 6 pm EST to obtain copies of the INFERGEN Patient Counseling Flip Chart
Have the following printable checklist of key points handy when discussing INFERGEN therapy with your patients.
Injection
- Choose an appropriate injection site (e.g., upper stomach area ¡X abdomen, except navel and waist areas or upper thighs) and be sure to change the injection site every time to avoid soreness at any one site.
- Establish a routine ¡X select a regular time to take injections so that it's easier to remember.
- Ask for help from a friend or loved one if you are having difficulty with injections.
- Take Tylenol or Advil one half hour before injection.
- To minimize symptom severity, take Infergen right before bedtime and use Tylenol or Advil to relieve muscle or body aches.
- Avoid caffeine and alcohol when taking Infergen.
- To relieve stomach problems: 1) avoid highly greasy or seasoned foods; 2) add more fruits and vegetables to the diet; 3) eat smaller meals at regular times; and, 4) drink at least 8 to 10 glasses of fluids (water, juice, or other decaffeinated drinks) daily.
- Recognize the symptoms of depression (feeling blue, losing interest in favorite activities, changes in eating or sleeping habits, irritability, withdrawal from social activities, suicidal thoughts).
- Tell your loved ones about how you're feeling so that they can support you.
- Take action! At the first sign of depression, call your healthcare practitioner or the Infergen Aspire 24/7 nurse hotline (1-888-move-fwd) for information and support.
Next: Full Prescribing Information
INFERGEN® (Interferon alfacon-1) is indicated for the treatment of chronic HCV infection in patients 18 years of age or older with compensated liver disease who have anti-HCV serum antibodies and/or the presence of HCV RNA. Other causes of hepatitis, such as viral hepatitis B or autoimmune hepatitis, should be ruled out prior to initiation of therapy with INFERGEN. The most commonly reported adverse events during initial and subsequent treatment were headache, fatigue, fever, myalgia, rigors, body pain, arthralgia, and nausea.
Important Safety Information:
INFERGEN is contraindicated in patients with known hypersensitivity to alpha interferons or to any component of the product, in patients with decompensated hepatic disease and autoimmune hepatitis. Development of or exacerbation of autoimmune disorders (e.g. autoimmune thrombocytopenia, idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis) have been reported in patients receiving alpha interferon therapies, including INFERGEN.
Treatment with INFERGEN should be administered under the guidance of a qualified physician, and may lead to moderate-to-severe adverse experiences requiring dose reduction, temporary dose cessation, or discontinuation of further therapy.
Severe psychiatric adverse events may manifest in patients receiving therapy with alpha interferons, including INFERGEN. Depression, suicidal ideation, suicide attempt, and suicide may occur. Other prominent psychiatric adverse events may also occur, including psychosis, aggressive behavior, nervousness, anxiety, emotional lability, abnormal thinking, agitation, apathy and relapse of drug addiction. INFERGEN should be used with extreme caution in patients who report a history of depression. Physicians should monitor all patients for evidence of depression and other psychiatric symptoms. In severe cases, therapy should be stopped immediately and psychiatric intervention instituted.
Bone Marrow Toxicity: Alpha interferons suppress bone marrow function and may result in severe cytopenias including very rare events of aplastic anemia. It is advised that complete blood counts be obtained pretreatment and monitored routinely during therapy. Alpha interferon therapy should be discontinued in patients who develop severe decreases in neutrophil (<0.5 x 109/L) or platelet counts (<50 x 109/L).
Hypertension, tachycardia, palpitation, and tachyarrhythmias have been reported in patients treated with INFERGEN. INFERGEN should be administered with caution to patients with preexisting cardiac disease. Supraventricular arrhythmias, chest pain, and myocardial infarction have been associated with alpha interferon therapies.
Pneumonia and interstitial pneumonitis, some resulting in respiratory failure and/or patient deaths, have been induced or aggravated by alpha interferon therapy, including INFERGEN. Patients who develop persistent or unexplained pulmonary infiltrates or pulmonary function impairment should discontinue treatment with INFERGEN.
Chronic hepatitis C patients with cirrhosis may be at risk of hepatic decompensation when treated with alpha interferons, including INFERGEN. During treatment, patients' clinical status and hepatic function should be closely monitored, and INFERGEN treatment should be immediately discontinued if symptoms of hepatic decompensation, such as jaundice, ascites, coagulopathy, or decreased serum albumin, are observed.
Ophthalmologic Disorders: Decrease or loss of vision, retinopathy including macular edema, retinal artery or vein thrombosis, retinal hemorrhages and cotton wool spots; optic neuritis, and papilledema are induced or aggravated by treatment with INFERGEN or other alpha interferons. All patients should receive an eye examination at baseline. Patients with preexisting ophthalmologic disorders (e.g., diabetic or hypertensive retinopathy) should receive periodic ophthalmologic exams during interferon alpha treatment. INFERGEN therapy should be discontinued in patients who develop new or worsening ophthalmologic disorders.
Ischemic and hemorrhagic cerebrovascular events including hemorrhagic stroke have been observed in patients being treated with INFERGEN. In addition, transient ischemic attack has been reported in young patients being treated with INFERGEN without other reported risk factors.
INFERGEN should be discontinued immediately and appropriate medical treatment instituted if hypersensitivity reactions occur. INFERGEN should be administered with caution to patients with a history of endocrine disorders and should be discontinued immediately in patients who develop signs and symptoms of colitis. In addition, INFERGEN should be suspended in patients with signs and symptoms suggestive of pancreatitis and discontinued in patients diagnosed with pancreatitis.
The most common adverse events reported for INFERGEN during clinical studies were headache (82%), fatigue (69%), fever (61%), myalgia (58%), rigors (57%), body pain (54%), arthralgia (51%), nausea (40%), insomnia (39%), pharyngitis (34%), nervousness (31%), infection upper respiratory (31%), diarrhea (29%), depression (26%), anorexia (24%), injection site erythema (23%), granulocytopenia (23%), dizziness (22%), cough (22%), dyspepsia (21%), thrombocytopenia (19%), anxiety (19%), sinusitis (17%), influenza-like symptoms (15%) and leucopenia (15%).
Please see Important Safety Information (including BOXED WARNING) as well as the full Full Prescribing Information and INFERGEN Medication Guide.
Alpha interferons, including Interferon-1, cause or aggravate fatal or life-threatening neuropsychiatric, autoimmune, ischemic, and infectious disorders.
Patients should be monitored closely with periodic clinical and laboratory evaluations. Patients with persistently severe or worsening symptoms of these conditions should be withdrawn from therapy. In many but not all cases, these disorders resolve after stopping Interferon -1 therapy.
See CONTRAINDICATIONS, WARNINGS, PRECAUTIONS and ADVERSE REACTIONS.
Patients should be monitored closely with periodic clinical and laboratory evaluations. Patients with persistently severe or worsening symptoms of these conditions should be withdrawn from therapy. In many but not all cases, these disorders resolve after stopping Interferon -1 therapy.
See CONTRAINDICATIONS, WARNINGS, PRECAUTIONS and ADVERSE REACTIONS.
Important Safety Information:
INFERGEN is contraindicated in patients with known hypersensitivity to alpha interferons or to any component of the product, in patients with decompensated hepatic disease and autoimmune hepatitis. Development of or exacerbation of autoimmune disorders (e.g. autoimmune thrombocytopenia, idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis) have been reported in patients receiving alpha interferon therapies, including INFERGEN.
Treatment with INFERGEN should be administered under the guidance of a qualified physician, and may lead to moderate-to-severe adverse experiences requiring dose reduction, temporary dose cessation, or discontinuation of further therapy.
Severe psychiatric adverse events may manifest in patients receiving therapy with alpha interferons, including INFERGEN. Depression, suicidal ideation, suicide attempt, and suicide may occur. Other prominent psychiatric adverse events may also occur, including psychosis, aggressive behavior, nervousness, anxiety, emotional lability, abnormal thinking, agitation, apathy and relapse of drug addiction. INFERGEN should be used with extreme caution in patients who report a history of depression. Physicians should monitor all patients for evidence of depression and other psychiatric symptoms. In severe cases, therapy should be stopped immediately and psychiatric intervention instituted.
Bone Marrow Toxicity: Alpha interferons suppress bone marrow function and may result in severe cytopenias including very rare events of aplastic anemia. It is advised that complete blood counts be obtained pretreatment and monitored routinely during therapy. Alpha interferon therapy should be discontinued in patients who develop severe decreases in neutrophil (<0.5 x 109/L) or platelet counts (<50 x 109/L).
Hypertension, tachycardia, palpitation, and tachyarrhythmias have been reported in patients treated with INFERGEN. INFERGEN should be administered with caution to patients with preexisting cardiac disease. Supraventricular arrhythmias, chest pain, and myocardial infarction have been associated with alpha interferon therapies.
Pneumonia and interstitial pneumonitis, some resulting in respiratory failure and/or patient deaths, have been induced or aggravated by alpha interferon therapy, including INFERGEN. Patients who develop persistent or unexplained pulmonary infiltrates or pulmonary function impairment should discontinue treatment with INFERGEN.
Chronic hepatitis C patients with cirrhosis may be at risk of hepatic decompensation when treated with alpha interferons, including INFERGEN. During treatment, patients' clinical status and hepatic function should be closely monitored, and INFERGEN treatment should be immediately discontinued if symptoms of hepatic decompensation, such as jaundice, ascites, coagulopathy, or decreased serum albumin, are observed.
Ophthalmologic Disorders: Decrease or loss of vision, retinopathy including macular edema, retinal artery or vein thrombosis, retinal hemorrhages and cotton wool spots; optic neuritis, and papilledema are induced or aggravated by treatment with INFERGEN or other alpha interferons. All patients should receive an eye examination at baseline. Patients with preexisting ophthalmologic disorders (e.g., diabetic or hypertensive retinopathy) should receive periodic ophthalmologic exams during interferon alpha treatment. INFERGEN therapy should be discontinued in patients who develop new or worsening ophthalmologic disorders.
Ischemic and hemorrhagic cerebrovascular events including hemorrhagic stroke have been observed in patients being treated with INFERGEN. In addition, transient ischemic attack has been reported in young patients being treated with INFERGEN without other reported risk factors.
INFERGEN should be discontinued immediately and appropriate medical treatment instituted if hypersensitivity reactions occur. INFERGEN should be administered with caution to patients with a history of endocrine disorders and should be discontinued immediately in patients who develop signs and symptoms of colitis. In addition, INFERGEN should be suspended in patients with signs and symptoms suggestive of pancreatitis and discontinued in patients diagnosed with pancreatitis.
The most common adverse events reported for INFERGEN during clinical studies were headache (82%), fatigue (69%), fever (61%), myalgia (58%), rigors (57%), body pain (54%), arthralgia (51%), nausea (40%), insomnia (39%), pharyngitis (34%), nervousness (31%), infection upper respiratory (31%), diarrhea (29%), depression (26%), anorexia (24%), injection site erythema (23%), granulocytopenia (23%), dizziness (22%), cough (22%), dyspepsia (21%), thrombocytopenia (19%), anxiety (19%), sinusitis (17%), influenza-like symptoms (15%) and leucopenia (15%).
Please see Important Safety Information (including BOXED WARNING) as well as the full Full Prescribing Information and INFERGEN Medication Guide.
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