by Dr Pandula Siribaddana

Created on: September 28, 2010

What is Adalimumab?

Adalimumab is a drug that is used to reduce an inflammatory element in the body which would be useful in inflammatory conditions which do not respond to usual anti-inflammatory treatments. The element which is negated by Adalimumab is the tumor necrosis factor alpha or TNF-alpha and the way it does so is by acting as an antibody of the IgG variety against the said inflammatory mediator. Because of its structure and function, Adalimumab is able to be active against many types of arthritic conditions including rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, psoriatic arthritis…etc. At the same time, it is also useful in treating conditions such as psoriasis, spondylitis and unresponsive cases of Crohn's disease as well.

What are the precautions needed to be taken before taking Adalimumab?

The most probable side effect that can take place with Adalimumab would be the possibility of potentially serious and sometimes deadly infections due to the reduced capacity of the immune cells in persons who are taking Adalimumab. This takes place because the number of blood cells goes down in such persons which will in effect reduce the infection fighting ability of the person. Therefore, before taking this drug, one should ascertain that they are not in risk of an infection and there are adequate precautions in place to prevent such from occurring. At the same time, these individuals should not receive a live vaccine as there is a possibility of vaccine induced infections.

What are the side effects of this drug?

Among the milder side effects with Adalimumab, signs in the injection site such as redness, swelling, pain…etc as well as nausea, headache, stuffy nose and stomach ache can be seen relatively commonly.

When considering the serious side effects, as with any other drug, one should be aware of the potential risk of allergic reactions and the appearance of swelling of the lips, face, tongue and the throat, itching of the skin, hives as well as breathing difficulties should prompt urgent medical attention.

Because of the potential for serious infections, signs pertaining to an infections should be closely monitored and these will include signs such as fever, chills, feeling of unwell, flu like symptoms, cough, sore throat, body aches, short of breath…etc which should warrant immediate withdrawal of the drug and to seek medical attention for further management.

In case a person develops side effects such as fits, breathing difficulties, ankle swelling, cough, hemoptysis or coughing up of blood, swollen gland, easy bruising, yellowing of the skin and the whites of the eye, skin rashes, mouth sores, joint pains, weakness of the legs or any other unusual side effects, immediate medical attentions should be obtained in order to prevent a serious and sometimes fatal outcomes.

Lastly, one should realize that the list of side effects presented in this article is not a complete list of all possible side effects and therefore one should refer the manufacturer literature in order to obtain a complete list of side effects as well as indications for its use.

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