Formulary
Rasburicase: Indications, Dosing, Side Effects and Interactions
Rasburicase is a recombinant urate oxidase enzyme which catalyses oxidation of uric acid into allantoin, which is then renally excreted.
MedNext Academy | 3 min read
Rasburicase: Indications, Dosing, Side Effects and Interactions
Rasburicase is a recombinant urate oxidase enzyme which catalyses oxidation of uric acid into allantoin, which is then renally excreted.
Drug action
Rasburicase is a recombinant urate oxidase enzyme which catalyses oxidation of uric acid into allantoin, which is then renally excreted.
Indications and dose
**Prophylaxis and treatment of acute hyperuricaemia, before and during initiation of chemotherapy, in patients with haematological malignancy and high tumour burden at risk of rapid tumour lysis (under expert supervision)**
- **Adult** (By Intravenous Infusion): 200 micrograms/kg once daily for up to 7 days according to plasma-uric acid concentration.
**Prophylaxis and treatment of acute hyperuricaemia, before and during initiation of chemotherapy, in patients with haematological malignancy and high tumour burden at risk of rapid tumour lysis (under expert supervision) for rasburicase**
- **Neonate** (By intravenous infusion): 200 micrograms/kg once daily for up to 7 days according to plasma-uric acid concentration.
- **Child** (By intravenous infusion): 200 micrograms/kg once daily for up to 7 days according to plasma-uric acid concentration.
Cautions
Atopic allergies
Contraindications
G6PD deficiency
Side effects
Common or very common Diarrhoea; fever; headache; hypersensitivity; nausea; skin reactions; vomiting Uncommon Bronchospasm; haemolysis (discontinue immediately); haemolytic anaemia; hypotension; methaemoglobinaemia (discontinue immediately); seizure Rare or very rare Rhinitis Frequency not known Muscle contractions involuntary
Pregnancy
Avoid unless essential M ; (recommendation also supported by specialist sources-limited information available).
Breast feeding
Use only if potential benefit outweighs risk (no information available) M . Specialist sources indicate that large molecular weight suggests limited excretion into milk and drug molecule likely to be partially destroyed in the infant's gastro-intestinal tract.
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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