Rituxan may cause a serious brain infection that can lead to disability or death. Call your doctor right away if you have problems with speech, thought, vision, or muscle movement. These symptoms may start gradually and get worse quickly.
Tell your doctor if you have ever had hepatitis B. Rituxan can cause this condition to come back or get worse.
Severe skin problems can also occur during treatment with Rituxan. Call your doctor if you have painful skin or mouth sores, or a severe skin rash with blistering, peeling, or pus.
Some side effects may occur during the infusion or within 24 hours afterward. Tell your caregiver right away if you feel itchy, dizzy, weak, light-headed, short of breath, or if you have chest pain, wheezing, sudden cough, or pounding heartbeats or fluttering in your chest.
Do not receive a "live" vaccine while using Rituxan, and avoid coming into contact with anyone who has recently received a live vaccine. There is a chance that the virus could be passed on to you. Live vaccines include measles, mumps, rubella (MMR), rotavirus, typhoid, yellow fever, varicella (chickenpox), zoster (shingles), and nasal flu (influenza) vaccine.
Before taking this medicine
Rituxan may cause a serious brain infection that can lead to disability or death. This infection may be more likely if have used an immunosuppressant drug in the past, or if you have received Rituxan with a stem cell transplant.
To make sure this medicine is safe for you, tell your doctor if you have ever had:
liver disease or hepatitis (or if you are a carrier of hepatitis B);
kidney disease;
lung disease or a breathing disorder;
a weak immune system (caused by disease or by using certain medicines);
an infection, including herpes, shingles, cytomegalovirus, chickenpox, parvovirus, West Nile virus, or hepatitis B or C;
heart disease, angina (chest pain), or heart rhythm disorder; or
if you have used rituximab in the past, or you have had a severe allergic reaction to rituximab.
You should be up-to-date on any needed immunizations before starting treatment with Rituxan. Tell your doctor if you (or a child receiving Rituxan) have received any vaccines within the past 4 weeks.
Do not use Rituxan if you are pregnant. It could harm the unborn baby. Use effective birth control to prevent pregnancy while you are using this medicine and for at least 12 months after your last dose.
It is not safe to breast-feed a baby while you are using this medicine. Also do not breast-feed for at least 6 months after your last dose.
If you are a woman of childbearing age, you should use birth control while taking Rituxan and for at least 12 months after your last dose.
