Bleeding
The risk of serious bleeding is increased with use of Kinlytic™. Fatalities
due to hemorrhage, including intracranial and retroperitoneal, have been reported
in association with urokinase therapy.
Concurrent administration of Kinlytic™ with other thrombolytic agents,
anticoagulants, or agents inhibiting platelet function may further increase
the risk of serious bleeding.
Kinlytic™ therapy requires careful attention to all potential bleeding
sites (including catheter insertion sites, arterial and venous puncture sites,
cutdown sites, and other needle puncture sites).
Intramuscular injections and nonessential handling of the patient must be avoided
during treatment with Kinlytic™. Venipunctures should be performed as
infrequently as possible and with care to minimize bleeding.
Should an arterial puncture be necessary, upper extremity vessels are preferable.
Direct pressure should be applied for at least 30 minutes, a pressure dressing
applied, and the puncture site checked frequently for evidence of bleeding.
In the following conditions, the risk of bleeding may be increased and should
be weighed against the anticipated benefits:
- Recent (within 10 days) major surgery, obstetrical delivery, organ biopsy,
previous puncture of non-compressible vessels
- Recent (within 10 days) serious gastrointestinal bleeding
- High likelihood of a left heart thrombus, for example, mitral atrial fibrillation
- Subacute bacterial endocarditis
- Hemostatic defects including those secondary to severe hepatic or renal
disease
- Pregnancy
- Cerebrovascular disease
- Diabetic hemorrhagic retinopathy
- Any other condition in which bleeding might constitute a significant hazard
or be particularly difficult to manage because of its location
When internal bleeding occurs, it may be more difficult to manage than that
which occurs with conventional anticoagulant therapy. Should potentially serious
spontaneous bleeding (not controllable by direct pressure) occur, the infusion
of Kinlytic™ should be terminated immediately, and measures to manage
the bleeding implemented. Serious blood loss may be managed with volume replacement,
including packed red blood cells. Dextran should not be used. When appropriate,
fresh frozen plasma and/or cryoprecipitate may be considered to reverse the
bleeding tendency.
Anaphylaxis and Other Infusion Reactions
Post-marketing reports of hypersensitivity reactions have included anaphylaxis
(with rare reports of fatal anaphylaxis), bronchospasm, orolingual edema and
urticaria (see ADVERSE REACTIONS: Allergic Reactions). There have also
been reports of other infusion reactions which have included one or more of
the following: fever and/or chills/rigors, hypoxia, cyanosis, dyspnea, tachycardia,
hypotension, hypertension, acidosis, back pain, vomiting, and nausea. Reactions
generally occurred within one hour of beginning Kinlytic™ infusion. Patients
who exhibit reactions should be closely monitored and appropriate therapy instituted.
Infusion reactions generally respond to discontinuation of the infusion and/or
administration of intravenous antihistamines, corticosteroids, or adrenergic
agents.
Antipyretics which inhibit platelet function (aspirin and other non-steroidal
anti-inflammatory agents) may increase the risk of bleeding and should not be
used for treatment of fever.
Cholesterol Embolization
Cholesterol embolism has been reported rarely in patients treated with all
types of thrombolytic agents; the true incidence is unknown. This serious condition,
which can be lethal, is also associated with invasive vascular procedures (e.g.,
cardiac catheterization, angiography, vascular surgery) and/or anticoagulant
therapy. Clinical features of cholesterol embolism may include livedo reticularis,
“purple toe” syndrome, acute renal failure, gangrenous digits, hypertension,
pancreatitis, myocardial infarction, cerebral infarction, spinal cord infarction,
retinal artery occlusion, bowel infarction and rhabdomyolysis.
Product Source and Formulation with Albumin
Kinlytic™ is made from human neonatal kidney cells grown in tissue culture.
Products made from human source material may contain infectious agents, such
as viruses, that can cause disease. The risk that Kinlytic™ will transmit
an infectious agent has been reduced by screening donors for prior exposure
to certain viruses, by testing donors for the presence of certain current virus
infections, by testing for certain viruses during manufacturing, and by inactivating
and/or removing certain viruses during manufacturing (see DESCRIPTION).
Despite these measures, Kinlytic™ may carry a risk of transmitting infectious
agents, including those that cause Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) or other
diseases not yet known or identified; thus, the risk of transmission of infectious
agents cannot be totally eliminated. A theoretical risk for transmission of
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is considered extremely remote.
This product is formulated in 5% albumin, a derivative of human blood. Based
on effective donor screening and product manufacturing processes, albumin carries
an extremely remote risk for transmission of viral diseases. A theoretical risk
for transmission of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) also is considered extremely
remote. No cases of transmission of viral diseases or CJD have ever been identified
for albumin.
All infections thought by a physician possibly to have been transmitted by
this product should be reported by the physician or other healthcare provider
to ImaRx Therapeutics, Inc. [1-866-634-6279].