For Patients Prescribed Voncento
What is Voncento?
You have been prescribed Voncento to help treat your VWD. It is an injection/infusion treatment that is used for both adults and children with VWD. Voncento contains human Von Willebrand factor (VWF) and human factor VIII, to replace your low, missing or faulty blood clotting proteins.
How can Voncento help you?
Voncento can be used in the following ways:
- To prevent or treat bleeding associated with surgery
- To treat any bleeds when you have them - this is known as on-demand treatment
- As an ongoing treatment to prevent bleeding - this is known as prophylactic therapy or prophylaxis
Your doctor or nurse will advise you on how you should use your medicine.
Using and storing Voncento
To use Voncento, you must dissolve it with the supplied solvent (water for injections) – called 'reconstitution' – to make a clear or slightly opalescent solution for injection/infusion.
You should use Voncento immediately after reconstitution. If not used immediately then please seek further advice from your nurse or pharmacist.
Never use Voncento after its expiry date.
| Vial Size | 1000 IU FVIII / 2400 IU VWF | 500 IU FVIII / 1200 IU VWF |
|---|---|---|
| Colour Indicator | Green | Red |
If you forget a dose or take too much
If you forget a dose, take your next dose immediately and continue at regular intervals as advised by your doctor. Do not take a double dose to make up for a forgotten dose. If you take more Voncento than recommended by your doctor, please contact your clinic for advice.
Safe disposal
Place all needles and Voncento bottles into a sharps box and throw away all waste packaging. Never put sharps in your domestic waste.
Do not throw away any medicines via wastewater or household waste. Ask your pharmacist how to throw away medicines you no longer use. These measures will help protect the environment.
Travelling with Voncento
If you are travelling abroad, it is advisable to carry Voncento in your hand luggage. Keep it with a letter from your haemophilia centre stating why you need to take medicine and needles through airport security and customs.
Keep your Voncento in a cool-bag, in case temperatures rise above 25°C on your journey. If travelling to a hot country, you may need to store Voncento in a fridge or cool-bag throughout your trip.
It would be advisable to contact the authorities of the country you are traveling to, before your trip, to ensure you are aware of any local laws or regulations.
Virus safety
When medicines are made from human blood or plasma, certain measures are put in place by the manufacturer to reduce the risk of infections being passed on to patients. These include:
- Careful selection of blood and plasma donors to make sure those at risk of carrying infections are excluded
- The testing of each donation and pools of plasma for signs of virus/infections
- Inclusion of steps in the processing of the blood or plasma that can inactivate or remove viruses
Your doctor may however still recommend that you consider certain vaccinations if you regularly/repeatedly receive human plasma-derived medicines such as Voncento.
Please refer to the patient information leaflet for further information.
Possible side effects
Like all medicines, Voncento can cause side effects, although not everybody gets them. Make sure you read the possible side effects section of the Voncento package leaflet carefully.
The following side effect has been observed very commonly (may affect more than 1 in 10 people):
- Headache
The following side effects have been observed commonly (may affect up to 1 in 10 people):
- Increase in body temperature
The following side effects have been observed uncommonly (may affect up to 1 in 100 people):
- Taste alteration (dysgeusia)
- Abnormal liver function test
Please contact your doctor immediately if:
- you notice symptoms of allergic reactions; Swollen face, tongue, mouth or throat, difficulty in breathing and swallowing, hives, wheezing, burning and stinging where the infusion was given, chills, flushing, skin rash over the whole body, headache, fall in blood pressure, restlessness, faster heart beat, tightness of the chest, back pain, tiredness, nausea, vomiting, tingling. You should stop using this medicine and contact your doctor immediately if you experience symptoms of an allergic reaction
- you notice that the medicine stops working properly (bleeding is not stopped)
- you notice any symptoms of an impaired perfusion in your extremities (e.g. cold and pale extremities) or vital organs (e.g. severe chest pain)
If you are concerned about any reactions or possible side effects, contact your von Willebrand care team immediately. This includes any side effects not included in the package leaflet. Please read the 'possible side effects' section of the package leaflet carefully. For more information, please see the reporting side effects section below.
Where can I find out more?
Your doctor or specialist nurse will be able to answer any questions that you may have.
The Haemophilia Society provides help and support to people with bleeding disorders, including VWD.
Reporting of side effects
If you get any side effects, talk to your doctor, pharmacist or nurse. This includes any possible side effects not listed in the package leaflet. You can also report side effects directly via the Yellow Card Scheme at https://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk.
By reporting side effects you can help provide more information on the safety of this medicine.