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Blood, 15 May 2007, Vol. 109, No. 10, pp. 4171-4173. Prepublished online as a Blood First Edition Paper on January 23, 2007; DOI 10.1182/blood-2006-11-059469. This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: blood-2006-11-059469v1 109/10/4171    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Rights and Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Sehn, L. H. Articles by Connors, J. M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Sehn, L. H. Articles by Connors, J. M. Related Collections Brief Reports Social Bookmarking                   What's this?  Previous Article  |  Table of Contents  |  Next Article  CLINICAL TRIALS AND OBSERVATIONS Brief Report Rapid infusion rituximab in combination with corticosteroid-containing chemotherapy or as maintenance therapy is well tolerated and can safely be delivered in the community setting Laurie H. Sehn1,2, Jane Donaldson1, Allison Filewich1, Catherine Fitzgerald1,2, Karamjit K. Gill1,2, Nancy Runzer1, Barb Searle1, Sheila Souliere1,2, John J. Spinelli1,2, Judy Sutherland1,2, and Joseph M. Connors1,2 1 Division of Medical Oncology, British Columbia Cancer Agency, Vancouver, Canada; 2 University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada The increasing usage of rituximab in the management of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) has created huge logistical challenges with respect to the delivery of this time- and labor-intensive drug. To address these challenges, we developed and tested the feasibility of a 90-minute infusion schedule for rituximab (20% of the dose administered in the first 30 minutes, remaining 80% administered over 60 minutes). A safety analysis performed in 150 patients receiving rituximab with corticosteroid-containing chemotherapy and 56 patients receiving rituximab as maintenance therapy demonstrated that this schedule was well tolerated, with no grade 3 or 4 infusion reactions observed. In addition, no increase in minor reactions was noted. More than 1200 patients have been treated with this rapid rituximab infusion schedule in the province of British Columbia (BC), demonstrating its safety in the community setting. The adoption of this 90-minute schedule as standard practice has had a positive impact on resource utilization. CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this? This article has been cited by other articles: A. Al Zahrani, N. Ibrahim, and A. Al Eid Rapid Infusion Rituximab Changing Practice for Patient Care Journal of Oncology Pharmacy Practice, September 1, 2009; 15(3): 183 - 186. [Abstract] [PDF] M. Siano, E. Lerch, L. Negretti, E. Zucca, D. Rodriguez-Abreu, M. Oberson, L. Leoncini, O. Mora, C. Sessa, A. Gallino, et al. A Phase I-II Study to Determine the Maximum Tolerated Infusion Rate of Rituximab with Special Emphasis on Monitoring the Effect of Rituximab on Cardiac Function Clin. Cancer Res., December 1, 2008; 14(23): 7935 - 7939. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] M. B. Toma and P. J. Medina Update on Targeted Therapy--Focus on Monoclonal Antibodies Journal of Pharmacy Practice, February 1, 2008; 21(1): 4 - 16. [Abstract] [PDF] S. Berentsen Rituximab for the treatment of autoimmune cytopenias Haematologica, December 1, 2007; 92(12): 1589 - 1596. [Full Text] [PDF] C. Bello and E. M. Sotomayor Monoclonal Antibodies for B-Cell Lymphomas: Rituximab and Beyond Hematology, January 1, 2007; 2007(1): 233 - 242. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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