Rapid infusion of second dose rituximab appears safe

the Oncology Nurse Advisor take:

Subsequent rituximab infusions can be safely administered over 60 minutes and without steroid premedication in an experienced outpatient infusion center as long as patients are appropriately screened, according to a new study published online ahead of print in the journal Supportive Care in Cancer.

For the study, researchers enrolled 50 patients with indolent and intermediate B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma receiving rituximab treatment at The Ohio State Comprehensive Cancer Center-James Cancer Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.

All patients had received the first dose of rituximab according to the manufacturer-labeled standard titration schedule and had not experienced a grade 2 or higher infusion reaction. Participants then received the subsequent infusion without steroid premedication at 100 mg/hour over 15 minutes, with the remaining amount administered over 45 minutes.

Results showed that no infusion-related reactions occurred with the 60-minute rapid infusion protocol. 

Researchers found that an average of about 94 minutes were saved with rapid infusion compared with the standard second dose infusion recommendation. Moreover, oncology nurses reported 100% satisfaction with the rapid infusion protocol.

The findings suggest that rapid infusions can reduce resource utilization and improve nursing satisfaction.