Interferon Alfa 2b

The recommended daily interferon alfa 2b dose should be administered by injection into a muscle, under the skin, as an infusion into a vein, or directly into a genital wart. Interferon alfa 2b should be used exactly as instructed by your healthcare professional.

Most common adverse reactions include fever, headache, chills, fatigue, and myalgia.

• The intalfa should not be in patients with hypersensitivity to it or any existing component of the product.
• The interferon alfa therapy should be discontinued in patients with severe reduction in the neutrophil/platelet counts.
• Interferon alfa 2b injection should be administeted extra cautiously in those patients who are with a history of cardiovascular disease.
• Patients should be routinely monitored for the complete blood counts (CBC) during therapy.
• The interferon alfa 2b must be used with additional caution in those patients who are with a history of the psychiatric disorders.
• In patient occurring liver function abnormalities while on treatment with interferon alpha 2b should be monitored closely.
• In women who are pregnant and in the male partners of women who are pregnant, interferon therapy should be avoided.

Care should be exercised in the handling of INTALFA. INTALFA Injections should not be opened or broken. Store in the refrigerator at temperature 36°F-46°F (2°C-8°C). Keep away from the heat. Do not freeze interferon alfa 2b.

• The interaction studies have only been performed in adults. Narcotics, hypnotics, or sedatives must be used with caution when used concomitantly with Interferon alfa-2b.
• Interactions between Interferon alfa-2b and other medicinal products have not been completely evaluated. Caution must be exercised when using Interferon alfa-2b along with other potentially myelosuppressive agents.
• Interferons may be responsible for affecting the oxidative metabolic process. This needs to be considered while on concomitant therapy with medicinal products metabolised by this route, such as the xanthine derivatives theophylline or aminophylline. While on concomitant therapy with xanthine agents, serum theophylline levels must be assessed and dosage adjusted if necessary.
• Pulmonary infiltrates, pneumonia and pneumonitis, occasionally resulting in a fatality, have been noted rarely in those treated with interferon alpha, including those treated with Interferon alfa-2b. The aetiology is undefined. These signs have been noted more frequently when shosaikoto, a Chinese herbal drug, is used concomitantly with interferon alpha.
• Administration of Interferon alfa-2b in combination with other existing chemotherapeutic agents (e.g., Ara-C, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, teniposide) may lead to increased risk of toxicity (severity and duration).