| Your rheumatoid arthritis patients probably have a
lot of questions about their therapy options. And many of them
probably ask about how therapy will affect their daily routine. They
want to know how treatment will allow them to do many of the things
they enjoy doing every day, with greater ease. Now you can provide
a treatment option that can help them find relief from rheumatoid
arthritis. By prescribing REMICADE with methotrexate for your
patients, you can allow them to experience:
- Reduced signs and symptoms — REMICADE can reduce
symptoms like joint pain and stiffness, and inflammation.
- Inhibited joint damage — REMICADE has been proven to
inhibit both joint space narrowing and joint erosion in rheumatoid
arthritis patients.
- Improved physical function — REMICADE is the first
treatment approved to improve physical function, allowing RA
patients to perform daily activities with greater ease!
- Simple dosing schedule — After the first three doses,
treatment is only necessary every eight weeks!
REMICADE is used with methotrexate when methotrexate alone hasn't
worked well. To learn more about REMICADE, or to get helpful
information for you and your patients, just click on the appropriate
links below.
Full Prescribing Information
Request more information about prescribing REMICADE
View X-rays that show the progression of joint damage despite
methotrexate therapy
REMICADE is contraindicated in patients with moderate or severe (NYHA
Class III/IV) congestive heart failure (CHF). Also it should not be
administered to patients with CHF of any class at doses greater than
5 mg/kg. REMICADE should be used with caution in patients with mild
CHF and REMICADE must not be continued in patients who develop new
symptoms of CHF or worsening symptoms of pre-existing CHF.
TUBERCULOSIS (FREQUENTLY DISSEMINATED OR EXTRAPULMONARY AT
CLINICAL PRESENTATION), INVASIVE FUNGAL INFECTIONS, AND OTHER
OPPORTUNISTIC INFECTIONS, HAVE BEEN OBSERVED IN PATIENTS RECEIVING
REMICADE. SOME OF THESE INFECTIONS HAVE BEEN FATAL. PATIENTS SHOULD
BE EVALUATED FOR LATENT TUBERCULOSIS INFECTION WITH A TUBERCULIN
SKIN TEST.1 TREATMENT OF LATENT TUBERCULOSIS
INFECTION SHOULD BE INITIATED PRIOR TO THERAPY WITH REMICADE.
Many of the serious infections have occurred in patients on
concomitant immunosuppressive therapy that, in addition to their
disease, could predispose them to infections. Cases of sepsis,
pneumocystosis, histoplasmosis, and listeriosis have been reported.
For patients who have resided in regions where histoplasmosis is
endemic, the benefits and risks of REMICADE should be carefully
considered before initiation of REMICADE therapy.
Caution should be exercised when considering the use of REMICADE in
patients with a chronic infection or a history of recurrent
infection. REMICADE should not be given to patients with a
clinically important, active infection. Patients should be monitored
for infection while on or after treatment with REMICADE. New
infections should be closely monitored. If a patient develops a
serious infection, REMICADE therapy should be discontinued.
REMICADE should not be administered to patients with known
hypersensitivity to any murine proteins or other component of the
product.
REMICADE has been associated with hypersensitivity reactions that
differ in their time of onset. Urticaria, dyspnea and hypotension
have occurred in association with REMICADE infusion as part of an
acute infusion-related symptom complex. Serious infusion reactions
including anaphylaxis were infrequent. Medications for the treatment
of hypersensitivity reactions (e.g., acetaminophen, antihistamines,
corticosteroids and/or epinephrine) should be available for
immediate use in the event of a reaction.
REMICADE and other agents that inhibit TNF have been associated in
rare cases with optic neuritis, seizure and new onset or
exacerbations of clinical symptoms and/or radiographic evidence of
demyelinating disorders, including multiple sclerosis. Prescribers
should exercise caution in considering the use of REMICADE in
patients with pre-existing or recent onset of central nervous system
demyelinating or seizure disorders.
Please read
Full Prescribing Information.
Reference: 1. American Thoracic Society, Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention. Targeted tuberculin testing and treatment of latent
tuberculosis infection. Am J Respir Crit Care Med
2000;161:S221-S247.
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