Is Zarxio Safe in Breastfeeding
Question
I am a breastfeeding mother and i want to know if it is safe to use Zarxio? Is Zarxio safe for nursing mother and child? Does Zarxio extracts into breast milk? Does Zarxio has any long term or short term side effects on infants? Can Zarxio influence milk supply or can Zarxio decrease milk supply in lactating mothers?
Zarxio lactation summary
- DrLact safety Score for Zarxio is 1 out of 8 which is considered Safe as per our analyses.
- A safety Score of 1 indicates that usage of Zarxio is mostly safe during lactation for breastfed baby.
- Our study of different scientific research also indicates that Zarxio does not cause any serious side effects in breastfeeding mothers.
- Most of scientific studies and research papers declaring usage of Zarxio 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 Zarxio 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 Zarxio. 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. Zarxio 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 Zarxio usage in lactation
Zarxio in the pharmaceutical name for granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF). PegZarxio is the long-acting form of Zarxio. The excretion of exogenous G-CSF into breastmilk or its effects on breastfed infants have not been well studied. Limited data indicate that Zarxio 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, Zarxio has been safely given orally to neonates and is not orally absorbed by neonates, so any Zarxio that is excreted into milk is unlikely to adversely affect the breastfed infant.
Zarxio Side Effects in Breastfeeding
Published information on the effects of Zarxio in breastmilk was not found as of the revision date. However, oral Zarxio 20 mcg daily for 5 days has been given to preterm infants with stage I necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). Zarxio appeared to halt progression to more severe stages of NEC in this small study.[6]