Refludan (Lepirudin) Drug Information: Overdosage and Contraindications

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May 27, 2012

Refludan

Heart Attack »

Heart attack facts

A heart attack results when a blood clot completely obstructs a coronary artery supplying blood to the heart muscle and heart muscle dies.
The blood clot that causes the heart attack usually forms at the site of rupture of an atherosclerotic, cholesterol plaque on the inner wall of a coronary artery.
The most common symptom of heart attack is chest pain.
The most common complications of a heart attack are heart failure and ventricular fibrillation.
The risk factors for atherosclerosis and heart attack include elevated cholesterol levels, increased blood pressure, tobacco use, diabetes, male gender, and a family history of heart attacks at an early age.
Heart attacks are diagnosed with electrocardiograms and measurement of cardiac enzymes in blood.
Early reopening of blocked coronary arteries reduces the amount of damage to the heart and im...

Read the Heart Attack article »

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OVERDOSE

In case of overdose (eg, suggested by excessively high aPTT values) the risk of bleeding is increased.

No specific antidote for REFLUDAN (lepirudin) is available. If life-threatening bleeding occurs and excessive plasma levels of lep-irudin are suspected, the following steps should be followed:

Immediately STOP REFLUDAN (lepirudin) administration
Determine aPTT and other coagulation levels as appropriate
Determine hemoglobin and prepare for blood transfusion
Follow the current guidelines for treating patients with shock

Individual clinical case reports and in vitro data suggest that either hemofiltration or hemodialysis (using high-flux dialysis membranes with a cutoff point of 50,000 daltons, eg, AN/69) may be useful in this situation.

In studies in pigs, the application of von Willebrand Factor (vWF, 66 IU/kg body weight) markedly reduced the bleeding time. The clinical significance of this data is unknown.

CONTRAINDICATIONS

REFLUDAN (lepirudin) is contraindicated in patients with known hypersensitivity to hirudins or to any of the components in REFLUDAN [lepirudin (rDNA) for injection].

Last reviewed on RxList: 7/31/2007
This monograph has been modified to include the generic and brand name in many instances.