Tocilizumab Side Effects and Precautions

 

Tocilizumab is a prescription medicine named an interleukin-6 (IL-6) receptor antagonist. The

medical uses of tocilizumab are listed as follows:

●       Tocilizumab is used to treat adults with moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) after at least one other medicine called a disease modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) has been used and did not work well.

●       Tocilizumab is used to treat adult patients with giant cell arteritis (GCA).

●       Tocilizumab is used to treat patients with active polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis (PJIA) aged 2 years and older.

●       Tocilizumab is used to treat patients with active systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (SJIA) aged 2 years and older.

●       Tocilizumab is used for slowing the rate of decline in lung function in adults with systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD) (also named scleroderma-associated ILD).

It is not specified if the drug Tocilizumab is safe and effective in children with PJIA or SJIA aged under two years or in children with conditions other than PJIA or SJIA.

 

Possible Side Effects: The most important side effects of Tocilizumab Injection are:

Serious infections: Tocilizumab is a medication that affects your or your child’s defense system. Tocilizumab can fade the ability of your or your child’s defense system in order to fight infections other than COVID-19. This drug can make you or your child more likely to get infections or worsen any infection that you or your child have, other than COVID-19.

 

Tears (perforation) of the intestines or stomach: Some individuals with Tocilizumab get tears in their intestine or stomach. This occurs most often in those individuals who also administer the NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), methotrexate, or corticosteroids.

 

Liver problems (hepatotoxicity): Certain individuals taking treatment with Tocilizumab have experienced severe life-threatening liver problems, which needed a liver transplant or led to death.

 

Changes in certain laboratory test results: Your or your child’s health specialist should  do blood tests before you or your child start receiving Tocilizumab. You or your child should not receive this medicine in case your or your child’s white blood cells or platelet (blood cells that help with blood clotting and halt bleeding) counts are reduced or your or your child’s liver function tests are extremely high.

 

Allergic reactions: Inform your or your child’s health specialist right away in case you or your child have signs and symptoms such as rash, swelling of your lips, tongue, or hives (raised red patches of skin which are often very itchy), or throat. This may indicate that you or your child are having an allergic reaction.

 

Nervous system problems: While rare, Multiple Sclerosis has been diagnosed in those who take Tocilizumab. It is not specified what effect Tocilizumab may have on some nervous system disorders.

 

The most commonly noted side effects of Tocilizumab injection include:

●       headache

●       increased blood pressure (hypertension)

●       injection site reactions

●       upper respiratory tract infections (common cold, sinus infections)

 

Tocilizumab & Pregnancy: Inform your health specialist in case you are planning to become pregnant, are pregnant, plan to breast-feed, or are breast-feeding. You and your health specialist should decide if you will take therapy with Tocilizumab or breast-feed. You should not do both.