palivizumab

Skip to main navigation

Skip to footer

For Medicare For Providers For Brokers For Employers

Español

For Individuals & Families:

For Individuals & Families

Shop for Plans

Medical

Dental

Other Supplemental

Explore coverage through work

How to Buy Health Insurance

Types of Dental Insurance

Open Enrollment vs. Special Enrollment

See all topics

Shop for Medicare plans

Member Guide

Find a Doctor

Home

Knowledge Center

Wellness Library

palivizumab

Pronunciation: PAL i VIZ oo mab

Brand: Synagis

What is the most important information I should know about palivizumab?

Palivizumab should not be given to a child who has had a severe allergic reaction to it.

What is palivizumab?

Palivizumab is a man-made antibody to respiratory syncytial (sin-SISH-ul) virus (RSV). RSV can cause serious illness in children. Palivizumab helps keep RSV cells from multiplying in the body.

Palivizumab is used to prevent serious lung disease caused by respiratory syncytial virus in premature infants, and infants born with certain lung disorders or heart disease.

Palivizumab works best in children who are 24 months old or younger at the beginning of RSV season (6 months or younger for premature infants).

Palivizumab will not treat a child who is already sick with RSV disease.

Palivizumab may also be used for other purposes not listed in this medication guide.

What should I discuss with my healthcare provider before receiving palivizumab?

Palivizumab should not be given to a child who has had a severe allergic reaction to it.

Tell your doctor if your child has ever had:

a bleeding or blood clotting disorder; or
low levels of platelets in the blood.

How is palivizumab given?

Palivizumab is injected into a muscle. A healthcare provider will give your child this injection.

Palivizumab is given once a month during the RSV season, which is usually November through April but may be different where you live.

To best help prevent RSV infection, your child's first palivizumab injection should be given before RSV season begins.

During RSV season, your child should receive a palivizumab injection once every 28 to 30 days. Each injection can help protect your child from RSV for about 1 month.

Be sure to keep all appointments for your child's injections. Even if your child gets sick with RSV disease, the child should continue to receive all scheduled palivizumab injections.

This medicine can cause unusual results with certain medical tests. Tell any doctor who treats you that you are using palivizumab.

What happens if I miss a dose?

Call your doctor for instructions if you miss an appointment for your child's palivizumab injection.

What happens if I overdose?

Since this medication is given by a healthcare professional in a medical setting, an overdose is unlikely to occur.

What should I avoid while receiving palivizumab?

Follow your doctor's instructions about any restrictions on food, beverages, or activity.

What are the possible side effects of palivizumab?

Get emergency medical help if your child has signs of an allergic reaction: hives, severe rash, itching; rapid or difficult breathing; blue-colored lips, skin, or fingernails; muscle weakness, being hard to wake up; swelling of the face, lips, tongue, or throat.

Common side effects may include:

fever; or
rash.

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 palivizumab?

Other drugs may affect palivizumab, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal products. Tell your doctor about all your current medicines and any medicine you start or stop using.

Where can I get more information?

Your doctor or pharmacist can provide more information about palivizumab.

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 1996-2023 Cerner Multum, Inc. Version: 5.01. Revision date: 12/11/2019.

Your use of the content provided in this service indicates that you have read, understood and agree to the End-User License Agreement, which can be accessed by End-User License Agreement, which can be accessed by clicking on this link.

This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated, disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. Learn how we develop our content.

Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated.

<cipublic-spinner variant="large"><span>Loading…</span></cipublic-spinner>

Page Footer

I want to...

Get an ID card

File a claim

View my claims and EOBs

Check coverage under my plan

See prescription drug list

Find an in-network doctor, dentist, or facility

Find a form

Find 1095-B tax form information

View the Cigna Glossary

Contact Cigna

Audiences

Individuals and Families

Medicare

Employers

Brokers

Providers

Secure Member Sites

myCigna member portal

Health Care Provider portal

Cigna for Employers

Client Resource Portal

Cigna for Brokers

The Cigna Group Information

About The Cigna Group

Company Profile

Careers

Newsroom

Investors

Suppliers

The Cigna Group

Third Party Administrators

International

Evernorth

Privacy

Legal

Product Disclosures

Cigna Company Names

Customer Rights

Accessibility

Non-Discrimination Notice

Language Assistance [PDF]

Report Fraud

Sitemap

Cookie Settings

Disclaimer

Individual and family medical and dental insurance plans are insured by Cigna Health and Life Insurance Company (CHLIC), Cigna HealthCare of Arizona, Inc., Cigna HealthCare of Illinois, Inc., Cigna HealthCare of Georgia, Inc., Cigna HealthCare of North Carolina, Inc., Cigna HealthCare of South Carolina, Inc., and Cigna HealthCare of Texas, Inc. Group health insurance and health benefit plans are insured or administered by CHLIC, Connecticut General Life Insurance Company (CGLIC), or their affiliates (see a listing of the legal entities that insure or administer group HMO, dental HMO, and other products or services in your state). Accidental Injury, Critical Illness, and Hospital Care plans or insurance policies are distributed exclusively by or through operating subsidiaries of Cigna Corporation, are administered by Cigna Health and Life Insurance Company, and are insured by either (i) Cigna Health and Life Insurance Company (Bloomfield, CT); (ii) Life Insurance Company of North America (“LINA”) (Philadelphia, PA); or (iii) New York Life Group Insurance Company of NY (“NYLGICNY”) (New York, NY), formerly known as Cigna Life Insurance Company of New York. The Cigna name, logo, and other Cigna marks are owned by Cigna Intellectual Property, Inc. LINA and NYLGICNY are not affiliates of Cigna.

All insurance policies and group benefit plans contain exclusions and limitations. For availability, costs and complete details of coverage, contact a licensed agent or Cigna sales representative. This website is not intended for residents of New Mexico.

Selecting these links will take you away from Cigna.com to another website, which may be a non-Cigna website. Cigna may not control the content or links of non-Cigna websites. Details