Pegfilgrastim Side Effects

While cancer medications and treatments often lead to a reduction in harmful cells or a complete remission of cancer, these treatments sometimes cause unwanted side effects. Amongst these possible adverse effects is a reduction of immune system white blood cells, which make you more susceptible to illness and infections. To help reduce the impact of cancer medications upon white blood counts, doctors prescribe pegfilgrastim, a synthetic version of an enzyme that the body typically uses to produce new white blood cells. Despite its effectiveness, pegfilgrastim is not for everyone as it presents several risks for side effects and complications in some patients.

Common Side Effects

• According to RxList, approximately 48 percent of pegfilgrastim users report hair loss and 31 percent experience bone pain, making these the most common side effects of the drug. Diarrhea, fever and muscle pain are also common, occurring in at least 21 percent of users. Sixteen percent of patients who take pegfilgrastim suffer from headaches and joint pain.

Other Side Effects

• Pegfilgrastim also has the potential to cause a number of other troublesome or annoying, but not dangerous, side effects. Some patients experience gastrointestinal side effects from the drug, such as nausea, indigestion, constipation and vomiting. In addition, swelling of the abdomen and a change in the way food tastes may occur. Nervous system effects such as dizziness and insomnia, as well as a general feeling of weakness and fatigue, are also possible while taking pegfilgrastim.

Drug Interactions

• There are some medications which produce unwanted side effects when used in conjunction with pegfilgrastim. The most widely used of these medications is lithium, which doctors prescribe to alleviate feelings of mania experienced by bipolar patients. Lithium often increases the action of pegfilgrastim, which can exacerbate the side effects caused by the drug. Because of this, your doctor may check your white blood count levels frequently to monitor for interactions if you are taking both drugs.

Risks

• In addition to minor side effects and the risk of interactions, pegfilgrastim has the potential to cause serious medical complications. For example, pegfilgrastim causes the spleen to become enlarged or even rupture in some patients, which can be life threatening without prompt medical attention. Some patients taking pegfilgrastim experience Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, a condition that causes a dangerous accumulation of fluid in the lungs and kills between 25 percent to 40 percent of people who develop it.

Considerations

• Doctors typically avoid prescribing pegfilgrastim for patients with sickle cell anemia because the drug has the potential to worsen the condition. Chemotherapy patients must abstain from using pegfilgrastim for a period of 14 days before a treatment and 24 hours afterward to avoid potential complications. Pegfilgrastim can cause low birth weights and typically is avoided during pregnancy. In addition, pegfilgrastim is not used in children who weigh less than 99 lb.