palivizumab at a glance
Medicine class
Antiviral humanised monoclonal antibody providing passive immunity.
Main purpose
Prevention of serious RSV lower respiratory tract disease requiring hospitalisation in licensed high-risk groups.
Administration
Given by intramuscular injection, usually into the outer thigh, by a healthcare professional.
Current place in care
Palivizumab may be used if longer-acting alternatives are unavailable.
What is palivizumab used for?
Palivizumab is licensed to prevent serious RSV lower respiratory tract disease requiring hospitalisation in children at high risk of RSV disease.
Children born at 35 weeks’ gestation or earlier who are under 6 months old when the RSV season begins.
Children under 2 years old who required treatment for bronchopulmonary dysplasia within the previous 6 months.
Children under 2 years old with haemodynamically significant congenital heart disease.
How does palivizumab work?
Palivizumab binds a specific site on the RSV fusion protein. This neutralises the virus and inhibits the membrane-fusion step needed for RSV to enter and spread between airway cells. It supplies antibodies directly rather than stimulating the child to make their own immune response like a vaccine.
palivizumab preparations and strengths
Injection
Route: Parenteral
Strengths: 50 mg/0.5 mL, 100 mg/1 mL
How to take palivizumab
A healthcare professional gives palivizumab as an injection into a muscle, preferably the outer thigh. The selected product is a ready-to-use, preservative-free, single-use solution; it should not be diluted, shaken or mixed with another medicine.
Food and drink do not affect administration.
Tell the clinical team about previous reactions to palivizumab or other humanised monoclonal antibodies.
Tell the team if the child has a significant infection, fever, low platelets or a bleeding disorder.
palivizumab side effects
Common or expected effects
- Fever
- Rash
- Pain, redness or swelling at the injection site
- Pauses in breathing
Get urgent medical advice
- Anaphylaxis or another severe allergic reaction
- Marked reduction in platelets, which may appear as unusual bruising or tiny red skin spots
- Seizure
- Significant pauses in breathing or other serious breathing difficulty
palivizumab in pregnancy
The licensed product is not indicated for adults, and pregnancy and fertility data are unavailable. Any proposed use during pregnancy requires specialist assessment.
palivizumab while breastfeeding
The licensed product is not indicated for adults, and lactation data are unavailable. Breastfeeding of an infant is not listed as a contraindication, but proposed administration to a breastfeeding adult requires specialist advice.
palivizumab interactions
Formal medicine-interaction studies have not been conducted. Practical considerations include vaccines and RSV diagnostic testing.
Routine childhood and influenza vaccines
Palivizumab is not expected to interfere with vaccine immune responses, and clinical studies did not identify an added adverse-reaction signal with commonly used vaccines.
Bronchodilators and corticosteroids
Concurrent use occurred in clinical studies without an observed increase in adverse reactions, although formal interaction studies are lacking.
RSV antigen tests and viral culture
Palivizumab can cause false-negative results; reverse-transcriptase PCR testing is not expected to be affected.
Common questions about palivizumab
Answers are fully visible for fast scanning and source review.
What is palivizumab used for?
It is licensed to prevent serious RSV lower respiratory tract disease requiring hospitalisation in specified high-risk young children.
Is palivizumab a vaccine?
No. It is a monoclonal antibody that supplies passive protection directly rather than teaching the immune system to make antibodies.
Does palivizumab treat an existing RSV infection?
Sources
These sources were used to prepare and review this medicine page.
Prepared and reviewed by the iatroX editorial team.