Is Leucostim Safe in Breastfeeding
Question
I am a breastfeeding mother and i want to know if it is safe to use Leucostim? Is Leucostim safe for nursing mother and child? Does Leucostim extracts into breast milk? Does Leucostim has any long term or short term side effects on infants? Can Leucostim influence milk supply or can Leucostim decrease milk supply in lactating mothers?
Leucostim lactation summary
- DrLact safety Score for Leucostim is 1 out of 8 which is considered Safe as per our analyses.
- A safety Score of 1 indicates that usage of Leucostim is mostly safe during lactation for breastfed baby.
- Our study of different scientific research also indicates that Leucostim does not cause any serious side effects in breastfeeding mothers.
- Most of scientific studies and research papers declaring usage of Leucostim safe in breastfeeding are based on normal dosage and may not hold true for higher dosage.
- Score calculated using the DrLact safety Version 1.2 model, this score ranges from 0 to 8 and measures overall safety of drug in lactation. Scores are primarily calculated using publicly available case studies, research papers, other scientific journals and publically available data.
Answer by Dr. Ru: About Leucostim usage in lactation
Non-glycosylated stimulating factor of granulocyte colonies (G-CSF) which is obtained by recombinant technology.The naturally occurring product is found in breast milk. A very high molecular weight explains the insignificant or no excretion into milk that has been observed both with Lenograstim and Leucostim. Its low oral bioavailability hampers absorption into infant plasma from the breast milk ingested, as for their proteic nature it is degraded in the gastrointestinal tract, not being absorbed. Leucostim is not absorbed by the infant's gut even during the neonatal period or prematurity. The granulocyte colony-stimulating factor has been used in premature newborns, both on prevention and treatment of neonatal sepsis and/or necrotizing enterocolitis without adverse effects being observed among treated infants. The bovine G-CSF is found in the usual diet of meat eaters.
Answer by DrLact: About Leucostim usage in lactation
Leucostim in the pharmaceutical name for granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF). PegLeucostim is the long-acting form of Leucostim. The excretion of exogenous G-CSF into breastmilk or its effects on breastfed infants have not been well studied. Limited data indicate that Leucostim and a similar G-CSF product, lenograstim, are poorly excreted into breastmilk and are undetectable by 3 days after an injection. Some authors recommend withholding breastfeeding for this period of time.[1] However, Leucostim has been safely given orally to neonates and is not orally absorbed by neonates, so any Leucostim that is excreted into milk is unlikely to adversely affect the breastfed infant.
Leucostim Side Effects in Breastfeeding
Published information on the effects of Leucostim in breastmilk was not found as of the revision date. However, oral Leucostim 20 mcg daily for 5 days has been given to preterm infants with stage I necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). Leucostim appeared to halt progression to more severe stages of NEC in this small study.[6]