Cytarabine (Liposomal)

Chemical Arachnoiditis

Equipped Facility/Experience Physician

  • This drug should be administered only under the supervision of a qualified physician experienced in the use of intrathecal cancer chemotherapy agents.
  • Appropriate management of complications is possible only when adequate diagnostic and treatment facilities are readily available.

Chemical Arachnoiditis

  • In all clinical studies, chemical arachnoiditis, a syndrome manifested primarily by nausea, vomiting, headache, and fever, was a common adverse event. If left untreated, chemical arachnoiditis may be fatal.
  • Severity and incidence may be reduced with concurrent administration of dexamethasone.
  • Patients receiving this drug should be treated concurrently with dexamethasone to mitigate the symptoms of chemical arachnoiditis.

Monitoring data

  • Patients should be started on dexamethasone 4 mg twice daily either orally or intravenously for five days beginning on the day of cytarabine liposomal injection.

Patient counseling

Package inserts

Additional information

Updated: January 2018