What is the most important information I should know about carboplatin?
You may have a severe allergic reaction within minutes of receiving a carboplatin injection. Your caregivers will quickly treat you if you if this occurs. You may be given medicine to help prevent an allergic reaction.
Carboplatin can increase your risk of bleeding or infection. Call your doctor if you have a fever, chills, cough, mouth sores, or unusual bleeding or bruising.
What is carboplatin?
Carboplatin is used together with other cancer drugs to treat ovarian cancer.
Carboplatin may also be used for purposes not listed in this medication guide.
What should I discuss with my healthcare provider before receiving carboplatin?
You should not be treated with carboplatin if you are allergic to it, or if you have:
- severe bleeding;
- severe bone marrow suppression; or
- if you have had a severe allergic reaction to similar cancer drugs such as oxaliplatin or cisplatin.
Tell your doctor if you have ever had:
- liver disease;
- kidney disease;
- a weak immune system; or
- if you have received carboplatin in the past.
Carboplatin may harm an unborn baby. Use effective birth control to prevent pregnancy, and tell your doctor if you become pregnant.
You should not breastfeed while using carboplatin.
How is carboplatin given?
Carboplatin is given as an infusion into a vein, usually given once every 4 weeks. A healthcare provider will give you this injection.
Tell your caregivers if you feel any burning, pain, or swelling around the IV needle when carboplatin is injected.
You may be given other medications to help prevent serious side effects or an allergic reaction. Keep using these medicines for as long as your doctor has prescribed.
Carboplatin can increase your risk of bleeding or infection. You will need frequent medical tests. Your cancer treatments may be delayed based on the results.
Your kidney and liver function may also need to be tested.
You may need blood transfusions while you are being treated with carboplatin.
What happens if I miss a dose?
Call your doctor if you miss an appointment for your carboplatin injection.
What happens if I overdose?
Seek emergency medical attention or call the Poison Help line at 1-800-222-1222.
What should I avoid while using carboplatin?
Avoid being near people who are sick or have infections. Tell your doctor at once if you develop signs of infection.
Ask your doctor before getting any vaccine while you are being treated with carboplatin. Also avoid coming into contact with anyone who recently received an oral polio vaccine. In the US, polio vaccine is available only as an injection, but the oral form may still be in use in other countries.
What are the possible side effects of carboplatin?
Get emergency medical help if you have signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficulty breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.
You may have a severe allergic reaction within minutes of receiving a carboplatin injection. Your caregivers will quickly treat you if you if this occurs.
Call your doctor at once if you have:
- severe or ongoing nausea and vomiting;
- numbness or tingly feeling in your hands or feet;
- vision problems;
- hearing problems, ringing in your ears;
- skin changes where the medicine was injected;
-
low blood cell counts --fever, chills, tiredness, mouth sores, skin sores, easy bruising, unusual bleeding, pale skin, cold hands and feet, feeling light-headed or short of breath; or
-
low magnesium --dizziness, irregular heartbeats, feeling jittery, muscle cramps, muscle spasms, cough or choking feeling.
Common side effects may include:
- low blood cell counts;
- nausea, vomiting;
- abnormal liver function tests;
- low magnesium;
- temporary hair loss; or
- pain or weakness.
This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.
What other drugs will affect carboplatin?
Tell your doctor about all your other medicines, especially:
- an antibiotic such as amikacin, gentamicin, kanamycin, streptomycin, or tobramycin.
This list is not complete. Other drugs may affect carboplatin, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal products. Not all possible drug interactions are listed here.
Where can I get more information?
Your doctor or pharmacist can provide more information about carboplatin.
Remember, keep this and all other medicines out of the reach of children, never share your medicines with others, and use this medication only for the indication prescribed.
Every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided by Cerner Multum, Inc. ('Multum') is accurate, up-to-date, and complete, but no guarantee is made to that effect. Drug information contained herein may be time sensitive. Multum information has been compiled for use by healthcare practitioners and consumers in the United States and therefore Multum does not warrant that uses outside of the United States are appropriate, unless specifically indicated otherwise. Multum's drug information does not endorse drugs, diagnose patients or recommend therapy. Multum's drug information is an informational resource designed to assist licensed healthcare practitioners in caring for their patients and/or to serve consumers viewing this service as a supplement to, and not a substitute for, the expertise, skill, knowledge and judgment of healthcare practitioners. The absence of a warning for a given drug or drug combination in no way should be construed to indicate that the drug or drug combination is safe, effective or appropriate for any given patient. Multum does not assume any responsibility for any aspect of healthcare administered with the aid of information Multum provides. The information contained herein is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, warnings, drug interactions, allergic reactions, or adverse effects. If you have questions about the drugs you are taking, check with your doctor, nurse or pharmacist.
Copyright 1996-2022 Cerner Multum, Inc. Version: 7.01. Revision date: 12/14/2020.
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