Matthew Burke on Immune-Mediated Adverse Events
Matthew Burke, MBA, RN, MSN, APRN-BC, Oncology Nurse Practitioner/Melanoma and Renal Cell Carcinoma, Yale New Haven Hospital, discusses managing immune-mediated adverse events (IMAEs)
Matthew Burke, MBA, RN, MSN, APRN-BC, Oncology Nurse Practitioner/Melanoma and Renal Cell Carcinoma, Yale New Haven Hospital, discusses managing immune-mediated adverse events (IMAEs).
Burke says there are not great guidelines for managing IMAEs. The most common IMAEs are colitis, dermatitis, endocrinopathies and hepatotoxicity. Burke says the key to managing these side effects is early intervention, close monitoring and supportive treatment or steroids when necessary.
Using steroids to treat these side effects are "more of an art than science," Burke says. In some cases, steroids will not work, especially in autoimmune colitis or autoimmune hepatitis. In this instance, nurses can use adjunct therapies such as infliximab or mycophenolate, Burke says.
Burke says it is important for nurses to know and understand the principles behind IMAEs.
<<<
