Warning: This drug may cause severe kidney problems, severe allergic reactions, and bleeding problems. Platinol may also decrease your body’s ability to fight infection (bone marrow suppression), cause hearing problems (more common in children), and severe nausea and vomiting in some cases.
Tell your doctor immediately if you suffer from any of these symptoms: change in the amount of urine, rash, fast heartbeat, trouble breathing, swelling of the face, ringing in the ears, dizziness, hearing loss, easy bruising or bleeding, signs of an infection (e.g. fever and persistent sore throat), unusual tiredness and weakness, and nausea and vomiting.
Indications: This treatment is for certain types of cancer. It is a chemotherapy drug that you can either use alone or with other medications to slow and/or stop the growth of cancer.
Platinol is used, most of the times, in association with other anticancer drugs, to treat the following cancers:
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Platinol can be used in the treatment of other medical conditions not mentioned in this article; talk to your doctor or pharmacist for more information.
Dosage: This medication is given intravenously by a medical professional. Your dosage will depend upon your weight, medical condition and response to therapy. Platinol should not be given more than once every 3 to 4 weeks.
While you are taking this medication you should drink plenty of fluids to avoid kidney related side effects. Your doctor should prescribe you intravenous fluids to take while receiving treatment. Ask your doctor how much fluid you should be taking in.
Overdose: Platinol overdose leads mainly to kidney failure and bone marrow depression – a condition in which the bone marrow is unable to produce normal amounts of red blood cells (RBCs), white blood cells (WBCs) and platelets.
In addition, overdosing the medication can cause liver failure, deafness, eye problems (retinal detachment), intractable vomiting (the fact that you are unable to stop the vomiting) , neuritis (inflammation of a nerve or a portion of the nervous system) , and even death. If you think you’ve been given an overdose of Platinol, contact immediately your doctor or the poison control center nearest you.
Contraindications: Tell your doctor of all allergies you know you have, as you may be allergic to some of the ingredients in this medication.
You should avoid people that have recently had the oral polio vaccination, and avoid having immunizations yourself.
Certain people that have some medical conditions should not use Platinol, such as kidney disease, decreased bone marrow function (e.g. anemia, leukopenia), and hearing problems.
Tell your doctor of your entire medical history, including mineral imbalance (low levels of calcium, phosphate, sodium, magnesium and potassium), numbness/tingling of the hands and feet, gout, and kidney stones.
Caution should be used when this treatment is used for children, as they may be more susceptible to the side effects, including hearing loss.
Caution should be advised when using this drug in the elderly, as they are more susceptible to the side effects, including kidney problems, numbness/tingling of the hands and feet, infections and bleeding problems.
Mechanism of action (MOA): Platinol selectively inhibits the synthesis of DNA, and thus slows or stops the growth of cancer cells in the body.
Interactions: Your doctor and pharmacist should already be aware of all the possible interactions. You should notify them of all medications you are taking, as well as nonprescription and herbal.
There are some medications that are known to cause interactions with Platinol, such as aminoglycoside antibiotics (e.g. gentamicin, neomycin), amphotericin B, anti-seizure medications, (e.g. phenytoin), diuretics (e.g. furosemide, ethacrynic acid, bumetanide), nalidixic acid, pyridoxine when used in combination with both altretamine and cisplatin.
Side effects: Platinol also damage non-cancerous cells, which causes various side effects in most patients. The most common Platinol side effects include:
- hair loss
- fatigue
- decreased appetite
- weight loss
- diarrhea or constipation
- nausea and vomiting
- changes in taste
- Numbness or tingling in the fingertips and toes.
Platinol can cause serious side effects which require immediate medical attention; contact your doctor immediately if you experience any of these symptoms:
- high fever
- chills
- seizures
- shortness of breath
- breathing difficulty
- unusual bruising or bleeding
- dizziness or/and faintness
- pain in your side or back
- Swelling of your feet or ankles.
References:
1 – ch.oddb.org, Information professionelle sur Platinol-Teva®
2 – nlm.nih.gov, Platinol