5 WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS
5.1 Hypersensitivity Reactions
Patients sensitive to North American Coral Snake Antivenin (Equine) or horse serum may develop anaphylaxis. Prior to intravenous North American Coral Snake Antivenin (Equine) administration, consider performing a proper skin test and modify therapy if indicated.
Consider the following precautions to manage hypersensitivity reactions:
- Emergency medical care (e.g., epinephrine, intravenous antihistamines and/or albuterol) should be readily available.
- Carefully monitor patients for signs and symptoms of an acute allergic reaction (e.g., urticaria, pruritus, erythema, angioedema, bronchospasm with wheezing or cough, stridor, laryngeal edema, hypotension, tachycardia).
- Follow-up all patients for signs and symptoms of delayed allergic reactions or serum sickness (e.g., rash, fever, myalgia, arthralgia).
Patients who receive a course of treatment with a foreign protein such as North American Coral Snake Antivenin (Equine) may become sensitized to it. Therefore, use caution when administering a repeat course of treatment with North American Coral Snake Antivenin (Equine) for a subsequent envenomation episode.