Bivalirudin

Combined use of anti-coagulant medicines can be expected to increase the risk of bleeding. When bivalirudin is combined with a platelet inhibitor or an anti-coagulant medicine, clinical and biological parameters of haemostasis should be regularly monitored.

In patients taking warfarin who are treated with bivalirudin, International Normalised Ratio (INR) monitoring should be considered to ensure that it returns to pre-treatment levels following discontinuation of bivalirudin treatment.

From the knowledge of their mechanism of action, combined use of anti-coagulant medicinal products (heparin, warfarin, thrombolytics or antiplatelet agents) can be expected to increase the risk of bleeding. In any case, when bivalirudin is combined with a platelet inhibitor or an anticoagulant medicine, clinical and biological parameters of haemostasis should be regularly monitored. ²

The following medicinal products should not be administered in the same intravenous line as bivalirudin since they result in haze formation, micro-particulate formation or gross precipitation; alteplase, amiodarone HCl, amphotericin B, chlorpromazine HCl, diazepam, prochlorperazine edisylate, reteplase, streptokinase and vancomycin HCl. ²

Intra-procedural thrombus formation has been observed during gamma brachytherapy procedures with bivalirudin.

Bivalirudin should be used with caution during beta brachytherapy procedures.

Allergic type hypersensitivity reactions were reported uncommonly (≥1/1,000 to ≤1/100) in clinical trials. Necessary preparations should be made to deal with this. Patients should be informed of the early signs of hypersensitivity reactions including hives, generalised urticaria, tightness of chest, wheezing, hypotension and anaphylaxis. In the case of shock, the current medical standards for shock treatment should be applied. Anaphylaxis, including anaphylactic shock with fatal outcome has been reported very rarely (≤1/10,000) in post-marketing experience.

Treatment-emergent positive bivalirudin antibodies are rare and have not been associated with clinical evidence of allergic or anaphylactic reactions. Caution should be exercised in patients previously treated with lepirudin who had developed lepirudin antibodies.