not everybody gets them.
A very common side effect (likely to occur in more than 1 in 10 patients) is bone pain. Your doctor will tell you what you can take to ease the bone pain.
Common side effects (likely to occur in fewer than 1 in 10 patients) include; pain and redness at the site of the injection, headaches, and general aches and pains in the joints, muscles, chest, limbs, neck or back. An uncommon side effect (likely to occur in fewer than 1 in 100 patients) is nausea.
Allergic-type reactions to Neulasta, including redness and flushing, skin rash, raised areas of the skin that itch and anaphylaxis (weakness, drop in blood pressure, difficulty breathing, swelling of the face), have rarely (likely to occur in fewer than 1 in 1,000 patients) been reported.
Increased spleen size and very rare cases (likely to occur in fewer than 1 in 10,000 patients) of spleen rupture have been reported after the use of Neulasta. Some cases of splenic rupture were fatal.
It is important that you contact your doctor immediately if you experience pain in the upper left side of the abdomen or left shoulder pain since this may relate to a problem with your spleen.
Rare (likely to occur in fewer than 1 in 1,000 patients) cases of breathing problems have been reported after taking G-CSFs. If you have a cough, fever and difficulty breathing please tell your doctor.
Some changes may occur in your blood, but these will be detected by routine blood tests. Your platelet count may become low which might result in bruising. Your white blood cell count may become high for a short period of time.
Sweet?s syndrome (plum-coloured, raised, painful lesions on the limbs and sometimes the face and neck with fever) has occurred rarely (likely to occur in fewer than 1 in 1,000 patients) but other factors may play a role.
Very rarely (likely to occur in fewer than 1 in 10,000 patients) cutaneous vasculitis (inflammation of the blood vessels in the skin) has occurred in patients receiving Neulasta.
If any of the side effects gets serious, or if you notice any side effects not listed in this leaflet, please tell your doctor or pharmacist.
How should it be stored?
Keep out of the reach and sight of children.
Do not use Neulasta after the expiry date which is stated on the box and on the syringe label (EXP). The expiry date refers to the last day of that month.
Store in a refrigerator (2°C ? 8°C).
You may take Neulasta out of the refrigerator and keep it at room temperature (not above 30°C) for no longer than 3 days. Once a syringe has been removed from the refrigerator and has reached room temperature (not above 30°C) it must either be used within 3 days or disposed of.
Do not freeze. Neulasta may be used if it is accidentally frozen for a single period of less than 24 hours.
Keep the container in the outer carton in order to protect from light.
Do not use Neulasta if you notice it is cloudy or there are particles in it.
Medicines should not be disposed of via wastewater or household waste. Ask your pharmacist how to dispose of medicines no longer required. These measures will help to protect the environment.
Further information
What Neulasta contains
Neulasta contains the active substance pegfilgrastim. Pegfilgrastim is a protein produced by biotechnology in bacteria called E. coli. It belongs to a group of proteins called cytokines, and is very similar to a natural protein (granulocyte-colony stimulating factor) produced by your own body.
The active substance is pegfilgrastim. Each pre-filled syringe contains 6 mg of pegfilg |
