Dupilumab (Dupixent) Home administration
Date issued: December 2024
For review: December 2026
Ref: C-604/JWC/Chest Clinic/Dupilumab (Dupixent) Home administration
PDF: Dupilumab (Dupixent) Home Administration.pdf [pdf] 265KB
Who will deliver my injections?
Once you are established on treatment and the medical team feel that your progress is stable enough, you will be able to administer your own injections at home. Delivery is arranged through a private company called Sciensus. They will contact you about delivery of your injections. They will deliver 2 injections (i.e. 2 doses) every 4 weeks for the first 16 weeks of your home administration. Delivery then changes to 6 injections (6 doses) delivered every 12 weeks. If you have not heard from Sciensus 10 days before your first home delivery injection is due, please contact us directly on 01752 439950. For all other subsequent delivery enquiries please contact Sciensus directly: Tel: 0333 103 9499 or email: generalenquiries@sciensus.com
Only contact Chest Clinic if there is an on-going problem.
As soon as your injection arrives, please make sure that it is the medication you are expecting (Dupilumab 200mg) and is labelled with your name.
How do I store my injections?
The injections will be delivered to you refrigerated. It is important to maintain this ‘cold chain’ so as soon as you receive your injections you should store them in the fridge ( 2°c to 8°c ) and in their original package to protect from light. Injections are safe to be kept in the fridge for an indefinite period until their expiry date. We recommend you keep them in the main body of the fridge rather than in the door. Also make sure they are not pushed too far towards the back or sides of the fridge as there is a risk of them freezing. Injections left out of the fridge must be used within 14 days or discarded. If the ‘cold chain’ is broken for any reason (e.g. you have a power cut / your fridge stops working / the injections were not put into the fridge when they were delivered) and you are not due to take your injection within the next 14 days, please contact the asthma team via phone: 01752 439950 or email: plh-tr.asthmanursesuhp@nhs.net
Don’t forget to take the injection out of the fridge 30 minutes before you are due to administer it, so it has time to come to room temperature.
If your injection is exposed to temperatures above 25° C it should not be used.
When should I take my injections?
Dupilumab (Dupixent) injections are given every 2 weeks (14 days). At your first appointment you will have 2 injections but after this only 1 injection should be administered every 2 weeks.
What if I miss a dose?
If you forget to take an injection on time do not worry, just administer it when you remember. Make sure that you then leave a full 2 weeks (14 days) before taking the next injection (don’t try to get back to your original schedule)
How do I know if I have taken my full dose?
You will hear a click signalling that the injection has begun. The yellow plunger will start to fill the viewing window. Hold the autoinjector in place for 20 seconds and do not change its position. The injection can’t be stopped once it has been started. You will hear a second click signalling that the injection has finished. The yellow plunger will fill the viewing window, which indicates that the full dose has been injected. There may be a small amount of blood or liquid where you injected. This is normal. Gently hold pressure over your skin with a cotton ball or gauze until the bleeding or leaking stops. Do not rub the injection site. If for any reason the injection process is interrupted and only a partial dose is given, do not administer another injection. Please contact the asthma team for further advice.
Should I continue to take all my other asthma treatments?
Yes. It is important you do not stop any of your usual asthma treatments without first talking to one of the asthma nurses. You will ALWAYS need to continue your steroid inhaler but if you have a positive response to the injections, we may be able to look to reduce your dose of inhaled steroids or to stop certain additional treatments. We will not usually make changes to other treatments until you are well established on Dupilumab, and often not until the second year of this treatment.
Can I take prednisolone when on the biologic injections?
Yes, the hope is that Dupilumab will reduce the number of flare-ups / exacerbations you have but you may still require a rescue course of prednisolone to treat worsening symptoms.
Can I have vaccinations whilst on Dupilumab?
Non-live vaccinations such as Flu and COVID vaccinations are safe to have whilst on Dupilumab. We recommend that you aim to have these vaccinations approximately 5 to 7 days before or after you Dupilumab injection. This gap is important as it allows us to be clear about the cause of any side-effects you might experience after either injection. It is hard to do this if you have two injections together.
Live and Live-attenuated vaccines should not be given whilst on Dupilumab. Please speak to your vaccinator and / or contact us if you have any queries.
Can I take my Dupilumab with me if I go on holiday?
Yes, but remember the injection must be used within 14 days of removing from the fridge and must not be exposed to temperatures above 25°C. If you are travelling by plane, carry medication in hand luggage as there is a risk it might freeze, and the medication deactivated if it goes in the cargo hold. Some airlines will allow storage in the fridge during long flights, but if your injection has not been kept refrigerated during travel you must NOT put in back into a fridge when you arrive at your destination. Prior to travel abroad please contact us and we can provide a signed medication statement for you to show your travel companies. We also suggest you contact your airline as some airlines may elect to notate your file so that all onboard staff are aware you are travelling with medical items.
What if I am having an operation?
If you need to have an operation or dental procedure, there is generally no need to stop your injections. However, you should inform your surgical / dental team that you are taking Dupilumab.
What happens if I change my address?
Please inform both us and Sciensus if you are moving house. If you are moving outside of the catchment area for University Hospitals Plymouth, we will need to refer you to the appropriate Severe Asthma Centre, and they will take over your care. Please inform us of any intention to move out of area as soon as possible as transfer of care can take a number of weeks.
Further Information:
Find information about Dupixent
Asthma and Lung UK website is an excellent source of useful, reliable, and up to date information.
