Adalimumab

What is adalimumab?

Adalimumab is a type of drug known as a biological therapy. 

Inrheumatoid arthritis(房间 - 塔伊特(Arth-Arth-rye-tus))和其他一些条件,在体内产生了过多的称为TNF的蛋白质。这会引起炎症,疼痛和关节的损害。 Anti-TNF drugs such as adalimumab block TNF and so reduce this inflammation. 

Adalimumab isn’t a painkiller, but it can treat your condition and you should start to feel better over a period of 2–12 weeks. 

Who can take adalimumab?

You may be prescribed adalimumab for:

Your doctor won’t prescribe adalimumab if: 

  • 您的关节炎不活跃
  • 你有感染
  • 您尚未尝试首先尝试适合您的病情的其他治疗方法。

Before you’re prescribed adalimumab, doctors sometimes use a scoring system to work out how active your arthritis is. The system may be different depending on what condition you have, but most often you’ll be asked how well you feel on a scale of 0 to 10 and your doctor will make a note of how many of your joints are tender and swollen.    

您还需要在治疗开始之前进行血液检查,以评估您的病情以及该药物是否适合您。 

您的DoctorMayDecide不开处方您或拥有的Adalimumabif:  

  • repeated or severe infections 
  • multiple sclerosis (MS) 
  • 癌症
  • a serious heart condition
  • 硫杆组织已知为肺纤维化
  • tuberculosis
  • hepatitis B. 

在开始Adalimumab之前,您将进行胸部X射线检查和血液检查,以检查您是否曾经暴露于结核病(TB)。如果在您的体内,您可能需要在开始Adalimumab之前对结核病进行治疗,但不会引起任何症状。 

您还将检查以前的肝炎感染,因为阿达木单抗可能会增加肝炎的风险。  

在进行Adalimumab时,您需要进行进一步的血液检查以监测其效果。 

How is adalimumab taken?

Adalimumab is given by an injection under the skin, known as a subcutaneous injection. You, your partner, or another family member can learn to give the injections at home. Because it’s a long-term treatment, it’s important to keep taking adalimumab unless you have severe side effects:

  • 即使起初似乎没有工作,并且 
  • even if your symptoms improve, as this will help to keep your condition under control.  If you forget to take your adalimumab, contact your rheumatology team. They’ll be able to advise you on when to take it next.

Biosimilars

Adalimumab was originally only available under the brand name Humira. But newer versions of biological therapies are becoming available, so you may be prescribed adalimumab under a different name, such as Amgevita, Hulio, Hyrimoz or Imraldi. These drugs are known as biosimilars and work in a similar way. 

Side effects and risks

Most people don’t have any side effects, and for those who do, they aren’t usually serious. But if you do have very bad side effects or are concerned about your symptoms, contact one of thehealthcare professionalsin charge of your care. 

The most common side effects are redness, swelling or pain at the place where you’ve injected. Regularly changing where you inject will help reduce the chances of this.  

由于Adalimumab会影响免疫系统,因此它可以使您更有可能接收感染。它也可能使它们更难发现。告诉你的医生或rheumatology nurse如果您产生任何感染迹象,例如喉咙痛,发烧,腹泻,咳嗽绿色痰液或任何其他与您有关的新症状。如果这些症状中的任何一个非常恶劣,请立即去看医生。 

如果您将水痘或shinglesorcome开发到与有水痘或带状疱疹的人接触的情况下,您还应该去看医生。如果您正在使用Adalimumab,这些疾病可能会更糟。您可能需要抗病毒治疗,您可能必须停止服用该药物,直到您的情况改善为止。 

在极少数情况下,您可能会有过敏反应。联系您healthcare team如果您认为这可能会发生。如果反应非常糟糕,那么重要的是您看到您的全科医生或尽快去最近的事故和急诊室(A&E)。  

抗TNF药物与某些类型的皮肤癌有关。但是,两者之间的联系是不清除皮肤癌症,通常会成功地治疗。为了安全起见,请确保佩戴防晒霜,并定期检查您的皮肤是否有任何新斑点或雀斑或痣的更改。  

很少有adalimumabmay会导致一种称为药物诱导的狼疮的疾病。 Symptoms include a rash, fever and increased joint pain. If you have any of these symptoms, you should tell your rheumatology team. It’ll usually clear up when you stop taking adalimumab.   

Tips to reduce your risk of infection

  • 尽量避免与您认识的感染者密切接触。 
  • Wash your hands regularly and carry around a small bottle of antibacterial hand gel.
  • 定期刷牙来保持嘴巴清洁。 
  • Stop smoking if you’re a smoker. 
  • Make sure your food is stored and prepared properly.  
  • Try to keep your house clean and hygienic, especially the kitchen, bathrooms and toilets. 

Carrying an alert card

建议您携带一张生物疗法警报卡,以便任何人都知道您在Adalimumab上。问你的风湿病团队for a card. 

影响其他的治疗方法

在开始任何新药物之前,请与您的医生或药剂师联系。请记住,如果您受到通常的风湿病团队以外的任何人的治疗,请提及您在Adalimumab上。 

You can carry on taking a非甾体类抗炎药(NSAID)或止痛药,如果需要,除非您的医生另有建议。 

不要首先与您的医生或药剂师讨论此问题,因为其中一些人可能会对Adalimumab做出异常反应,因此请勿使用辅助治疗方法,例如草药。

Vaccinations

It’s best to discuss vaccinations with your healthcare team before starting adalimumab.  It’s usually recommended that people on adalimumab avoid live vaccines such as MMR, varicella and yellow fever.

如果您从未有水痘,最好在开始Adalimumab之前对其进行疫苗接种。但是与您讨论风湿病团队first. 

It’s also a good idea to get any family or household members vaccinated against chickenpox before you start taking adalimumab. 

Zostavax带状疱疹疫苗是一种活疫苗,不建议使用Adalimumab的人。但是,可以使用非叶片带疫苗(Shingrix),因此您可以使用此疫苗。 

It’s recommended that you have the vaccination against COVID-19.

It’s recommended that you have the pneumonia vaccine and yearly flu vaccine injection while taking adalimumab. These vaccines are not live, so it’s safe for you to have them.

Having an operation

If you’re due to have an operation, talk to your surgeon and风湿病团队about taking your adalimumab. It’s likely you’ll be advised to stop adalimumab for a time before and aftersurgery。 

Alcohol

如果您在Adalimumab上喝酒是可以的。指南指出,成年人每周不应超过14个单位,并且应该在一周中将其散布。在某些情况下,您的医生可能会建议下限。 

Fertility, pregnancy and breastfeeding

如果您打算尝试婴儿,如果您成为或者,如果您正在考虑母乳喂养,我们建议您与风湿病医生讨论您的药物。  

当前的指南表明,在尝试婴儿时,男女服用阿达木单抗是可以的。 

You can also take adalimumab in the first three months of a pregnancy, known as the first trimester, as well as in months four, five and six – known as the second trimester. It’s best not to take adalimumab during the last three months, or final trimester.  

But if your arthritis is bad, you might be advised to take adalimumab during the last three months of a pregnancy. If you do, then your baby should not have any live vaccines, such as a BCG, until they’re seven months old. This is because the drug may pass into your baby’s body and could lower their immune system a bit.  

You can breastfeed while on this medication.