Precautions
Drug information provided by: Merative, Micromedex®
It is very important that your doctor check your progress at regular visits to make sure that this medicine is working properly. Blood tests may be needed to check for unwanted effects.
This medicine may cause serious infections (eg, bacterial, fungal, viral). Check with your doctor right away if you have chest tightness, stomach pain, fever, itching, pain or redness of the skin, indigestion, nausea, vomiting, chills, confusion, dizziness, fast heartbeat, bone pain, diarrhea, loss of appetite, weakness, bleeding in the eye, blurred vision, trouble breathing, sneezing, or cough.
You will need to have a skin test for tuberculosis before you start using this medicine. Tell your doctor if you or anyone in your home has ever had a positive reaction to a tuberculosis test or been exposed to tuberculosis.
This medicine may increase your risk of getting some forms of cancer (eg, non-melanoma skin cancer). This is more likely to occur if you are over 60 years of age or if you are receiving PUVA therapy (psoralen and ultraviolet A treatment) or medicines that weaken the immune system (eg, steroids) in the past. Talk to your doctor about this risk if you have concerns.
This medicine may cause serious types of allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis and angioedema, which can be life-threatening and require immediate medical attention. Call your doctor right away if you have a rash, itching, hoarseness, trouble breathing or swallowing, or any swelling of your hands, face, or mouth after receiving the medicine.
Check with your doctor if you have headache, seizures, confusion, or blurred vision or other visual problems. These may be symptoms of a rare and serious condition called posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) or reversible posterior leukoencephalopathy syndrome (RPLS).
This medicine may cause non-infectious pneumonia (eg, interstitial pneumonia, eosinophilic pneumonia, cryptogenic organizing pneumonia). Check with your doctor right away if you have chest pain, cough, fever or chills, sneezing, sore throat, trouble breathing, or tightness in the chest.
While you are being treated with ustekinumab-auub and after you stop treatment with it, do not have any immunizations (especially live vaccines) without your doctor's approval. Ustekinumab-auub may lower your body's resistance and there is a chance you might get the infection the immunization is meant to prevent. In addition, the other persons living in your household should not take oral polio vaccine since there is a chance they could pass the polio virus on to you. Also avoid persons who have recently taken oral polio vaccine. Do not get close to them or stay in the same room with them for very long. If you cannot take these precautions, you should consider wearing a protective mask that covers the nose and mouth. You should not receive BCG vaccine 1 year before and 1 year after receiving this vaccine.
Do not take other medicines unless they have been discussed with your doctor. This includes prescription or nonprescription (over-the-counter [OTC]) medicines and herbal or vitamin supplements.
Portions of this document last updated: May 01, 2024
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