Abatacept (intravenous route, subcutaneous route)
Available brands
Orencia
About this medication
Abatacept injection is used alone or together with other medicines to treat moderate to severe active rheumatoid arthritis. Abatacept helps keep joint damage from getting worse after other medicines have been used and did not work well. Abatacept injection is also used alone or together with methotrexate to treat moderate to severe active polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis (pJIA). Abatacept injection is also used alone or together with other medicines to treat active psoriatic arthritis (PsA), which is a type of arthritis that causes pain and swelling in the joints along with patches of scaly skin on some areas of the body. Abatacept injection is also used together with other medicines (eg, calcineurin inhibitor, methotrexate) to prevent acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) in patients who will undergo hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) from a matched or 1 allele-mismatched unrelated donor. This medicine is available only with your doctor's prescription. This product is available in the following dosage forms:
Before using this medication
In deciding to use a medicine, the risks of taking the medicine must be weighed against the good it will do. This is a decision you and your doctor will make. For this medicine, the following should be considered: Tell your doctor if you have ever had any unusual or allergic reaction to this medicine or any other medicines. Also tell your health care professional if you have any other types of allergies, such as to foods, dyes, preservatives, or animals. For non-prescription products, read the label or package ingredients carefully. Appropriate studies performed to date have not demonstrated pediatric-specific problems that would limit the usefulness of abatacept injection in children 2 years of age and olderto treat pJIA,to treat PsA, andto prevent aGVHD. However, safety and efficacy have not been established in children younger than 2 years of age. Appropriate studies performed to date have not demonstrated geriatric-specific problems that would limit the usefulness of abatacept injection in the elderly. However, elderly patients are more sensitive to the effects of this medicine than younger adults and are more likely to have cancer and serious infections, which may require caution in patients receiving abatacept injection. There are no adequate studies in women for determining infant risk when using this medication during breastfeeding. Weigh the potential benefits against the potential risks before taking this medication while breastfeeding. Although certain medicines should not be used together at all, in other cases two different medicines may be used together even if an interaction might occur. In these cases, your doctor may want to change the dose, or other precautions may be necessary. When you are taking this medicine, it is especially important that your healthcare professional know if you are taking any of the medicines listed below. The following interactions have been selected on the basis of their potential significance and are not necessarily all-inclusive. Using this medicine with any of the following medicines is usually not recommended, but may be required in some cases. If both medicines are prescribed together, your doctor may change the dose or how often you use one or both of the medicines. Using this medicine with any of the following medicines may cause an increased risk of certain side effects, but using both drugs may be the best treatment for you. If both medicines are prescribed together, your doctor may change the dose or how often you use one or both of the medicines. Certain medicines should not be used at or around the time of eating food or eating certain types of food since interactions may occur. Using alcohol or tobacco with certain medicines may also cause interactions to occur. Discuss with your healthcare professional the use of your medicine with food, alcohol, or tobacco. The presence of other medical problems may affect the use of this medicine. Make sure you tell your doctor if you have any other medical problems, especially:
How to use this medication
A nurse or other trained health professional will give you or your child this medicine. This medicine is given as a shot under your skin or into a vein. For the treatment ofrheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis:If this medicine isgiven through a veinin your arm, it must be injected by your doctor slowly and your IV tube will need to stay in place for 30 minutes. You will receive this medicine again at 2 weeks and 4 weeks after your first dose and then every 4 weeks after. For the prevention ofacute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD):This medicine isgiven through a veinin your arm. It must be injected by your doctor slowly and your IV tube will need to stay in place for 60 minutes on the day before you receive transplant (Day -1). You will receive this medicine again at Days 5, 14, and 28 after the transplant. Abatacept may be also given as ashot under your skin. It may sometimes be given at home to patients who do not need to be in the hospital. If you or your child are using this medicine at home, your doctor or nurse will teach you how to prepare and inject the medicine. Be sure that you understand exactly how to use the medicine. This medicine comes with patient instructions. Read and follow these instructions carefully. Ask your doctor or pharmacist if you have any questions. If you use this medicine at home, you will be shown the body areas where this shot can be given. Use a different body area each time you give yourself or your child a shot. Keep track of where you give each shot to make sure you rotate body areas. This will help prevent skin problems. This medicine is available in 3 forms: a vial (glass container), a prefilled syringe, or a ClickJect™ autoinjector. Theprefilled syringeandClickJect™ autoinjectorare the dosage forms you can use at home. Check the liquid in the prefilled syringe or ClickJect™ autoinjector. It should be clear and colorless or slightly yellow. Do not use it if it is cloudy, discolored, or if you see particles in it. Do not use the prefilled syringe or ClickJect™ autoinjector if it looks cracked or broken. Allow 30 minutes for the syringe to warm up to room temperature. Do not warm this medicine in any other way. Do not remove the needle cover on the prefilled syringe or the autoinjector cap while allowing the medicine to reach room temperature. Remove only if ready to use. Check that the amount of liquid in the prefilled syringe falls at or just above the fill line. If the syringe does not have the right amount of liquid, do not use it. Do not inject into skin areas that are red, bruised, tender, scaly, or hard, or have scars or stretch marks. The dose of this medicine will be different for different patients. Follow your doctor's orders or the directions on the label. The following information includes only the average doses of this medicine. If your dose is different, do not change it unless your doctor tells you to do so. The amount of medicine that you take depends on the strength of the medicine. Also, the number of doses you take each day, the time allowed between doses, and the length of time you take the medicine depend on the medical problem for which you are using the medicine. This medicine needs to be given on a fixed schedule. If you miss a dose or forget to use your medicine, call your doctor or pharmacist for instructions. Store in the refrigerator. Do not freeze. Keep out of the reach of children. Do not keep outdated medicine or medicine no longer needed. Ask your healthcare professional how you should dispose of any medicine you do not use. Throw away used needles in a hard, closed container where the needles cannot poke through. Keep this container away from children and pets.
Disclaimer: August is a health information platform and its responses don't constitute medical advise. Always consult with a licenced medical professional near you before making any changes.