teriflunomide

teriflunomide

Aubagio

Indications

Action

Pharmacokinetics

Time/action profile (decrease in disability progression)

Contraindications/Precautions

Adverse Reactions/Side Effects

Cardiovascular

• hypertension

Respiratory

• interstitial lung disease (rare) (life-threatening)

Gastrointestinal

• hepatotoxicity (life-threatening)
• diarrhea (most frequent)
• ↑ transaminases (most frequent)
• nausea (most frequent)

Genitourinary

• acute renal failure (urate nephropathy)

Dermatologic

• severe skin reactions including stevens-johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis
• alopecia (most frequent)

Fluid and Electrolyte

• hyperkalemia
• hypophosphatemia

Hematologic

• leukopenia
• neutropenia
• thrombocytopenia

Neurologic

• paresthesia (most frequent)
• peripheral neuropathy

Miscellaneous

• atypical infections, including Latent tuberculosis (life-threatening)
• influenza (most frequent)

Interactions

Drug-Drug interaction

Route/Dosage

Availability

Nursing implications

Nursing assessment

• Assess BP before starting and periodically during therapy. Treat hypertension as needed.
• Lab Test Considerations: Monitor liver function tests (transaminases, bilirubin) within 6 months of starting therapy and monthly after teriflunomide therapy begins. Do not administer if ALT >2 × upper limit of normal. Consider discontinuing therapy if serum transaminase ↑ >3 × upper limit of normal is confirmed. Monitor serum transaminase and bilirubin in patients with symptoms of liver dysfunction. If liver injury is suspected, discontinue teriflunomide, begin accelerated elimination procedure, and monitor liver function tests weekly until normal.
  • Obtain a pregnancy test from female patients prior to beginning therapy.
  • Monitor CBC with platelet count within 6 months prior to starting and periodically during therapy based on signs and symptoms of infection. Mean decrease in WBC occurs during first 6 wks and remains low during therapy.
  • Monitor INR closely in patients taking warfarin, a decrease in warfarin peak may occur.

Potential Nursing Diagnoses

Implementation

• Administer a tuberculin skin test prior to administration of teriflunomide. Patients with active latent TB should be treated for TB prior to therapy.
• Oral: Administer once daily without regard to food.
• Drug Elimination Procedure: Either of the following procedures is recommended to achieve nondetectable plasma levels <0.02 mg/L after stopping treatment with teriflunomide. 1) Administer cholestyramine 8 g 3 times daily (every 8 hrs) for 11 days. If cholestyramine 8 g is not well tolerated, cholestyramine 4 g 3 times/day can be used. or 2) Administration of 50 g oral activated charcoal powder every 12 hr for 11 days. (Days do not need to be consecutive unless rapid lowering of levels is desired.) Verify plasma levels <0.02 mg/L by 2 separate tests at least 14 days apart. Plasma levels may take up to 2 yr to reach nondetectable levels without drug elimination procedure.

Patient/Family Teaching

• Instruct patient to take teriflunomide as directed. Advise patient to read Medication Guide before starting therapy and with each Rx refill in case of changes.
• Advise patient to notify health care professional promptly if symptoms of liver problems (nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, loss of appetite, tiredness, skin or whites of eyes yellowing, dark urine), serious skin problems (redness or peeling), infection (fever, tiredness, body aches, chills, nausea, vomiting), or interstitial lung disease (cough, dyspnea, with or without fever) occur.
• Instruct patient to notify health care professional if symptoms of peripheral neuropathy (numbness and tingling in hands and feet different from symptoms of MS), kidney problems (flank pain), high potassium level (nausea or racing heartbeat), or high BP occur.
• Instruct patient to notify health care professional of all Rx or OTC medications, vitamins, or herbal products being taken and consult health care professional before taking any new medications.
• Instruct patient to avoid vaccinations with live vaccines during and following therapy without consulting health care professional.
• Discuss the possibility of hair loss with patient. Explore methods of coping.
• Advise patient that teriflunomide is teratogenic. Effective birth control should be used during therapy and until blood levels of teriflunomide are low enough. If pregnancy is planned or suspected, or if breast feeding notify health care professional immediately, accelerated eliminated procedure may be used to decrease blood levels more rapidly. Male patients with female partner who plans to become pregnant may also use this method. If female partner does not plan to become pregnant, use effective birth control until blood levels are low enough; may require 2 years. Females of childbearing potential are recommended to undergo accelerated elimination procedure upon discontinuation of teriflunomide. Patients who become pregnant should be encouraged to enroll in the Aubagio Pregnancy Registry at 1-800-745-4447 to collect information about mother and baby's health.

Evaluation/Desired Outcomes

• Decrease in the number of MS flares (relapses) and slowing of physical problems caused by MS.