"Diprospan" - a means of a wide range of applications. It has anti-inflammatory, anti-allergenic, immunosuppressive effects. Appointed only by a specialist. In this publication, we will review the instructions for the use of Diprospan injections, find out under what ailments such injections are prescribed. The article is intended to familiarize yourself with the medicine, you can not engage in self-medication, everyone should understand this.
Material Content:
Release form, composition and packaging
The product is sold under the name "Diprospan", its generic name is Betamethasone. It is convenient to use, as it is ready for injection (it does not need to be additionally mixed with water), packaged in single-use vials.
The form of the drug is a liquid, slightly viscous, has no color or yellowish, transparent, with white, barely visible particles. After shaking, the medicine acquires a yellowish or almost white tint.
Composition per 1 ml:
- betamethasone sodium phosphate contains 2.63 mg, which equals 2 mg of betamethasone;
- betamethasone dipropionate 6.43 mg, which equals 5 mg betamethasone.
Auxiliary ingredients:
- sodium chloride;
- carmellose sodium;
- edetate disodium;
- water;
- sodium hydrogen phosphate dihydrate;
- hydrochloric acid;
- polysorbate;
- polyethylene glycol;
- methyl parahydroxybenzoate.
In a cardboard box is from one to five ampoules of transparent glass. The volume of each is 1 ml.
Pharmacological action, pharmacodynamics andpharmacokinetics
"Diprospan" refers to glucocorticosteroid drugs.It is endowed with a low mineralocorticoid property and strong glucocorticoid. When ingested, the drug has an immunosuppressive and anti-allergenic effect, and fights against inflammatory processes. In addition, active substances have a beneficial effect on metabolic processes.
Betamethasone sodium phosphate is a fast acting substance. It quickly disperses throughout the body after the injection, and therefore the therapeutic effect begins to appear immediately. In the body, this substance does not last long, and it practically does not remain one day after application.
Betamethasone dipropionate is rather slowly metabolized, and therefore the effect on the body is long. The substance lingers in the tissues for a long time, and its complete elimination is possible only after 10, and sometimes even more, days.
Active substances are firmly bonded to plasma protein, most of which are metabolized in the liver. The medicine is mostly excreted by the kidneys.
What Diprospan injections help from
Injections are prescribed to treat a variety of ailments. This tool can be both a full-fledged therapy, and an addition to the main treatment.
What do injections help from?
List of ailments for which glucocorticosteroid therapy is applicable:
- Musculoskeletal system (arthritis, fasciitis, radiculitis, foot disease, osteoarthritis, spondylitis, bursitis and so on).
- Diseases caused by allergens (asthma, bronchitis, hay fever, rhinitis - can be both chronic and seasonal, allergies triggered by drugs, insect bites).
- Diseases of the epidermis (dermatitis, eczema, lichen, psoriasis, acne, insulin lipodystrophy, urticaria).
- Systemic diseases of the connecting tissues.
- Acute childhood leukemia.
- Adrenal cortex insufficiency.
- Other diseases in the treatment of which glucocorticosteroid drugs are required (ulcerative colitis, nephritis, eye diseases, and others).
The appointment of the drug is done only by the doctor.
Instructions for use
Injections are prescribed not only intramuscularly. Injections can be indicated for affixing and intrafocal, intraarticular, interstitial.
Administration of an injection subcutaneously and intravenously is not allowed.
The method of administration, dosage and regimen are prescribed individually by a specialist, depending on the type of disease, its course, age of the patient.
For systemic therapy, intramuscular injections are more often chosen, and 1-2 ml are used. The injection regimen is individual, you need to look at the patient's reaction, build on the severity of the ailment. In order for the tissues not to atrophy, injections are injected into the large muscles, while you need to be extremely careful, you can not touch other tissues. The gluteus muscle is most suitable for injections.
Dosage for i / m administration:
- during emergency therapy, for a quick effect, first 2 ml of the drug is administered, then the specialist looks at the condition;
- treatment of epidermal diseases - 1 ml is enough for one injection;
- an allergy injection is made in a volume of 1-2 ml, after the administration of the drug, a significant improvement in the patient's well-being occurs;
- in the treatment of respiratory ailments, 1-2 ml is used;
- treatment of bursitis (chronic or acute) begins with the introduction of 12 ml of the drug, then repeated injections are made if necessary.
Anesthetics are required in individual situations, and can be used at the request of the patient.
Lidocaine is suitable, but you need to mix it correctly:
- First of all, the main substance “Diprospan” is injected into the syringe.
- Get lidocaine or another anesthetic.
- Shake the syringe sharply.
- Release air, introduce a needle.
With exacerbation of diseases, even one injection helps significantly, the medicine anesthetizes, restores the mobility of tissues and joints, and re-injection may not be required. In the chronic course of the disease, only a doctor can prescribe regular injections.
With arthritis and other joint diseases, intra-articular injections will significantly help. Dosage from 0.5 to 2 ml per injection, after which it is necessary to provide rest to the joint (completely immobilize it) for a period of at least 2 hours. The course can last a month or more.
To eliminate diseases of a dermatological nature, intradermal application is recommended. The affected area is cut off with the calculation of 0.2 ml of the drug per square centimeter of skin. It is convenient to use a tuberculin syringe for these purposes.
When a positive result from the therapy will be noticeable, the drug cannot be removed immediately, it is canceled gradually, reducing the dosage. After a long course, or when high doses were used, the patient is recommended to be observed by a doctor for at least a year.
During pregnancy and breastfeeding
All risks must be assessed not only for a pregnant woman and her unborn child, but also for all patients of childbearing age. The doctor determines the presence of danger associated with the use of Diprospan, and then concludes that it is possible to prescribe.
If during the gestation of a fetus a woman was injected with the described drug, then the child is under some supervision (for up to a year, sometimes longer) under the enhanced supervision of a pediatrician.
This is necessary for the timely detection of possible adrenal insufficiency.
When a woman can’t do it without injections, but she is breastfeeding, the possibility of transferring the child to mixtures is considered, since there is a possibility of side effects for babies. After all, the active substance passes into milk.
Drug interaction
Not all drugs can be used together; some reactions can be harmful.
List of substances not suitable for joint use:
- Diprospan is metabolized faster, and therapy is not so effective if simultaneous use with ephedrine, phenobarbital, phenytoin is practiced.
- With estrogen-containing agents, the volume of the described drug must be carefully adjusted, an overdose is possible.
- If diuretics are used that promote the elimination of potassium, then Diprospan is not recommended, there is a high probability of acquiring hypokalemia. Against its background, digitalis poisoning often develops.
- When taking cardiac glycosides and Diprospan in a single period, the development of arrhythmia is possible.
- Combined therapy with indirect anticoagulants affects blood coagulation, so the specialist should adjust the dosage of Diprospan to a lesser extent.
- Ethanol-containing agents, together with the described drug, can give an unpleasant reaction - an increased risk of ulcerative lesions in the gastrointestinal tract.
- Somatotropin is absorbed more slowly when taken with Diprospan, so the dosage of the latter per day should not be carefully calculated by a doctor.
- A false result can be obtained by analysis of infections caused by bacteria, if a test is carried out (blue nitrogen tetrazole). As it became known, glucocorticosteroid drugs have a certain effect on the state of the body.
It is precisely because of the incompatibility of many substances that one cannot independently prescribe the drug. Before proceeding with treatment, it is necessary to undergo an examination with a therapist and get recommendations.
Contraindications, side effects and overdose
All medicinal substances have some contraindications.
Diprospan is not applicable in the following conditions:
- intolerance to contained substances;
- if the patient suffers from frequent mycoses;
- intra-articular administration is not performed if arthritis is infectious, or with an unstable joint;
- not used for intravertebral administration, as well as in all parts of the body where infections are raging.
There are conditions in which the doctor first of all evaluates the pros and cons, and only then makes an appointment.
With extreme caution, the medicine is used for such diseases:
- hepatic cirrhosis;
- some eye diseases;
- hypothyroidism;
- infections with purulent discharge;
- ulcerative colitis, which is nonspecific;
- intestinal anastomoses;
- kidney failure;
- osteoporosis;
- severe myasthenia gravis;
- arterial hypertension;
- ulcers in the intestines or stomach;
- diverticulitis;
- intramuscular pressure.
As with any medication, side effects may occur during treatment with Diprospan. All of them are reversible, to eliminate them you need to reduce the dosage or switch to other drugs. Typically, such reactions occur in people who are prescribed high dosages, or those who undergo prolonged treatment.
Side effects include:
- Swelling against the background of fluid retention, which occurs due to increased excretion of potassium and calcium.
- An increase in blood pressure in people predisposed to heart failure can develop a chronic ailment.
- Muscle weakness, weight loss.
- Osteoporosis, steroid myopathy, the pathological appearance of fractures in the bones (only tubular suffer), compression vertebral fracture, necrosis of the cells of the humerus or femur.
- Joint instability and tendon ruptures.
- Hiccups, pancreatitis, ulcers in the digestive tract are possible with further perforation, which leads to bleeding.
- Dermatitis, acne, slow healing of skin lesions, candidiasis, pyoderma.
- Increased sweating.
- Intracranial pressure, seizures, insomnia, personality disorders, depression, headaches and dizziness, mood swings, irritability. Almost all of the described side effects associated with the central nervous system, for the most part, occur in people with prolonged treatment and after its completion. That is why patients need to be withdrawn from treatment with Diprospan gradually, not to remove the injections sharply, but to reduce the dosage, leading to a complete rejection of injections.
- Itsenko-Cushing's syndrome may occur. In women, a cycle often goes wrong after treatment.
- Adrenal insufficiency, diabetes.
- Cataracts and increased intraocular pressure, less commonly glaucoma. Very rarely, total or partial blindness occurs.
- Weight gain, as Diprospan can have different effects on metabolic processes.
Prescribed side effects from one injection do not occur!
The only thing that can cause a single injection is an allergy, which is expressed by symptoms:
- lowering blood pressure;
- anaphylactic shock;
- swelling.
A skin reaction is very rarely possible: redness of the cheeks (due to a rush of blood to the face), atrophy of the integument, pallor, increased pigmentation.
Even a severe overdose of a substance does not lead to death and conditions that are life threatening.
Failure to comply with the dosage, the use of a larger amount of the drug than prescribed by the doctor, the lack of dose adjustment with a single dose of Diprospan, which are not recommended for this drug, all this causes the appearance of the above-mentioned ailments.
If this happens, then you need treatment, which includes:
- monitoring the condition of the patient;
- high fluid intake
- balance control of electrolytes, for this it is necessary to pass OAM and OAK;
- in some cases, appropriate therapy is required.
Overdose is extremely rare. To prevent this, strictly follow the instructions.
Analogues of the drug
If for some reason Diprospan needs to be replaced with an analog. They are both cheaper and more expensive.
You can choose a drug from the list (betamethasone is used as the active substance, there are differences only in the auxiliary ingredients):
- Betamethasone-Norton
- Celeston
- Betaspan
- Loracort
- "Celestoderm-B";
- Beloderm.
Once again, caution against the use of self-medication. Diprospan is a powerful medicine that has many contraindications and side effects.Only a specialist can prescribe the drug, starting from the patient's condition and his reaction.