Cytarabine Liposomal Dosage

Applies to the following strengths: 10 mg/mL

Usual Adult Dose for Meningitis - Lymphomatous

Induction Therapy: 50 mg intrathecally (intraventricular or lumbar puncture) every 14 days for 2 doses (Weeks 1 and 3)
Consolidation Therapy: 50 mg intrathecally (intraventricular or lumbar puncture) every 14 days for 3 doses (Weeks 5, 7 and 9) followed by one additional dose at week 13
Maintenance Therapy: 50 mg intrathecally (intraventricular or lumbar puncture) every 28 days for 4 doses (Weeks 17, 21, 25 and 29)

Comments:

Patients should be started on dexamethasone 4 mg orally or IV 2 times a day for 5 days beginning on the day that this drug is injected.
This drug should be injected slowly over a period of 1 to 5 minutes.
Following drug administration by lumbar puncture, the patient should lie flat for one hour.
Patients should be observed by the physician for immediate toxic reactions.

Use: For the intrathecal treatment of lymphomatous meningitis

Data not available

Data not available

If drug related neurotoxicity develops:

US BOXED WARNINGS:
CHEMICAL ARACHNOIDITIS:

Chemical arachnoiditis, a syndrome manifested primarily by nausea, vomiting, headache, and fever is a common adverse event associated with this drug. If left untreated, it may be fatal. Patients receiving this drug should be treated concurrently with dexamethasone to mitigate the symptoms.

Safety and efficacy have not been established in patients younger than 18 years.

Consult WARNINGS section for additional precautions.

Data not available

Administration advice:

This drug is cytotoxic and caution should be used in handling it. The use of gloves is recommended. If the suspension contacts the skin, wash immediately with soap and water. If it contacts mucous membranes, flush thoroughly with water.
In-line filters must not be used when administering this drug; it is administered directly into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) via an intraventricular reservoir or by direct injection into the lumbar sac. It should be injected slowly over a period of 1 to 5 minutes.

Storage requirements:

Reconstitution/preparation techniques:

No further reconstitution or dilution is required.
The drug particles tend to settle with time.
Vials should be allowed to warm to room temperature and gently agitated or inverted to resuspend the particles immediately prior to withdrawal from the vial.
Avoid aggressive agitation.
The drug should be withdrawn from the vial immediately before administration.
The vial is a single dose unit and does not contain any preservative.
This drug should be used within 4 hours of withdrawal from the vial.
Unused portions of each vial should be discarded properly; do not save any unused portions for later administration.

IV compatibility:

General:

Following drug administration by lumbar puncture, the patient should be instructed to lie flat for one hour.
Patients should be observed by the physician for immediate toxic reactions.