Formulary
Calcitonin (salmon): Indications, Dosing, Side Effects and Interactions
Calcitonin (salmon) clinical drug profile including indications, dosing, side effects, cautions and interactions.
MedNext Academy | 3 min read
Calcitonin (salmon): Indications, Dosing, Side Effects and Interactions
Calcitonin (salmon) clinical drug profile including indications, dosing, side effects, cautions and interactions.
Indications and dose
**Hypercalcaemia of malignancy**
- **Adult** (By Subcutaneous Injection, Or By Intramuscular Injection): 100 units every 6-8 hours (max. per dose 400 units every 6-8 hours), adjusted according to response.
- **Adult** (By Intravenous Infusion): Up to 10 units/kg, in severe or emergency cases, to be administered by slow intravenous infusion over at least 6 hours.
**Paget's disease of bone**
- **Adult** (By Subcutaneous Injection, Or By Intramuscular Injection): 100 units daily, adjusted according to response for maximum 3 months (6 months in exceptional circumstances), a minimum dosage regimen of 50 units three times a week has been shown to achieve clinical and biochemical improvement.
**Prevention of acute bone loss due to sudden immobility**
- **Adult** (By Subcutaneous Injection, Or By Intramuscular Injection): Initially 100 units daily in 1-2 divided doses, then reduced to 50 units daily at the start of mobilisation, usual duration of treatment is 2 weeks; maximum 4 weeks.
**Hypercalcaemia (limited experience in children) (specialist use only) for calcitonin (salmon)**
- **Child** (By subcutaneous injection, or by intramuscular injection): 2.5-5 units/kg every 12 hours (max. per dose 400 units every 6-8 hours), adjusted according to response, no additional benefit with doses over 8 units/kg every 6 hours.
- **Child** (By intravenous infusion): 5-10 units/kg, to be administered by slow intravenous infusion over at least 6 hours.
**Osteoporosis (specialist use only) for calcitonin (salmon)**
- **Child** (By intramuscular injection, or by subcutaneous injection): Refer for specialist advice, experience very limited.
Cautions
For calcitonin (salmon) History of allergy (skin test advised); risk of malignancy-avoid prolonged use (use lowest effective dose for shortest possible time)
Contraindications
For calcitonin (salmon) Hypocalcaemia
Side effects
For calcitonin (salmon) Common or very common Abdominal pain; arthralgia; diarrhoea; dizziness; fatigue; flushing; headache; musculoskeletal pain; nausea; secondary malignancy (long term use); taste altered; vomiting Uncommon Hypersensitivity; hypertension; influenza like illness; oedema; polyuria; skin reactions; visual impairment Rare or very rare Bronchospasm; throat swelling; tongue swelling Frequency not known Hypocalcaemia; tremor
Pregnancy
For calcitonin (salmon) Avoid unless potential benefit outweighs risk (toxicity in animal studies).
Breast feeding
For calcitonin (salmon) Avoid; inhibits lactation in animals .
Renal impairment
For calcitonin (salmon) Use with caution in end-stage renal disease (reduced renal metabolism; limited information available). M
Medicinal forms
Clinical governance
**Author:** MedNext Clinical Team. **Clinical reviewer:** Dr Shameer Deen, MBBS, MS, MRCS. **Sources:** BNF, Indian Pharmacopoeia, CIMS India. **Correction:** Report errors at support@mednext.academy.
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