What is cytarabine injection?

Cytarabine Injection is used to treat some types of blood cancers. It may also be used to treat other conditions, as prescribed by your doctor. It is sometimes used with certain other medicines as part of combination chemotherapy.

How is Cytarabine Injection used?

Cytarabine Injection is given by injection into a vein or under the skin by a health care professional. Your doctor will decide what dose and how often you need to take it. This will depend on what you are being treated for and may change from time to time. You should take it exactly as your doctor has told you. Taking it the wrong way or taking too much of it can cause very serious side effects. It may take several weeks or months to see or feel the benefits but don’t stop taking it unless your doctor tells you to.

Common side effects of the injection:

The most common side effects of this drug include rash, skin ulcers, nausea, vomiting, and hair loss. This medicine may decrease the number of blood cells (decreases red blood cells and white blood cells) in your blood, thus increasing the susceptibility to infections or bleeding. Tell your doctor if you notice chills, unusual bleeding or bruising, and black, tarry stools. Regular blood tests are needed to check blood cells along with levels of uric acid in the blood, heart and liver.

Before taking it, tell your doctor if you have bleeding, liver or kidney problems, or are taking any medications to treat infections. Many other drugs can affect or be affected by this drug, so let your doctor know all the drugs you use. This medicine is not recommended during pregnancy or while breastfeeding. The use of effective contraception by both males and females during treatment is important to avoid pregnancy.