FEIBA Patient Information Booklet - Haemophilia Care
FEIBA Patient Information Booklet - Haemophilia Care
FEIBA Patient Information Booklet - Haemophilia Care
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Introduction to inhibitors<br />
<strong>Patient</strong>s with haemophilia generally receive treatment (known as<br />
‘factor replacement therapy’) to help their blood to clot.<br />
Some patients develop antibodies to their haemophilia treatment.<br />
Antibodies are produced by the immune system to destroy substances<br />
the body perceives as foreign.<br />
The antibodies to haemophilia treatment are known as ‘inhibitors’.<br />
The inhibitor neutralises the haemophilia treatment and prevents it<br />
from doing its job.<br />
Inhibitors stop haemophilia treatment<br />
from doing its work<br />
From hospital to home:<br />
the evolution of inhibitor treatment<br />
The good news is that today there are many things that<br />
can be done to help people who develop inhibitors.<br />
Immune Tolerance Induction (ITI)<br />
When an inhibitor is first detected, ITI may be tried in order to eliminate it.<br />
The idea behind this is to infuse haemophilia treatment in high doses on<br />
a regular basis (sometimes as often as twice a day) so that the body will get<br />
used to the treatment and stop producing antibodies.<br />
Next Steps<br />
If ITI is unsuccessful, the patient will receive a treatment such as <strong>FEIBA</strong>.<br />
Treatment can either be given as a regular infusion (‘prophylaxis’) in order<br />
to try and prevent the bleed from occurring or be given to control the<br />
bleed when it occurs (‘on- demand’ treatment).<br />
A treatment such as <strong>FEIBA</strong> can also be used to treat breakthrough bleeds<br />
during ITI.<br />
Treatment At Home<br />
<strong>Patient</strong>s on <strong>FEIBA</strong> treatment may be able to manage their treatment at home.<br />
This has been a truly life-changing advance. Being able to treat the bleed at<br />
the time it starts means that the bleed can be controlled faster. It also means<br />
that you may not need to go to your <strong>Haemophilia</strong> Centre for every treatment.<br />
Guidance of how to treat a bleeding episode will be given by your care team<br />
at the centre. Treating within the home environment will help to free up time<br />
and means much less disruption to schooling or work and, perhaps most<br />
importantly, gives you more time to get on with the things you want to do.<br />
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