This information lists medicine that are often used before, during, or after a pediatric stem cell transplant. Your healthcare provider will talk with you about the medicine you’re taking, including their names and why you need to take them. In this resource, the word “you” means you or your child.
Supplements
- Folic acid: a vitamin your body needs to make normal blood cells.
- Potassium chloride/potassium phosphorus: a potassium supplement. Your body needs potassium for your muscles (including your heart) to work properly.
- Magnesium oxide/magnesium soy: magnesium supplements. Your heart needs magnesium to work the way it should.
- Multivitamin: a vitamin supplement that may or may not have iron.
- Vitamin K: a vitamin that your body needs so that your blood can clot.
GVHD prevention
These medicines are used to prevent or treat graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Examples include:
- mycophenolate mofetil (CellCept®)
- cyclosporine (Neoral®)
- tacrolimus (Prograf®)
- sirolimus (Rapamune®)
- methotrexate (at a low dose)
Antivirals
These medicines are used to prevent or treat viral infections (such as chicken pox and shingles). Other viral infections sometimes seen during transplant include cytomegalovirus (CMV), human herpes virus (HHV6), adenovirus, and BK virus. Examples include:
- acyclovir (Zovirax®)
- foscarnet (Foscavir®)
- ganciclovir (Cytovene®)
- cidofovir (Vistide®)
- letermovir (Prevymis®)
- valganciclovir (Valcyte®)
Antifungals
These medicines are used to prevent or treat fungal infections. Examples include:
- fluconazole (Diflucan®)
- amphotericin (AmBisome®)
- voriconazole (Vfend®)
- micafungin (Mycamine®)
- posaconazole (Noxafil®)
- isavuconazonium (Cresemba®)
Antinausea
These medicines are used to prevent or treat nausea (feeling like you’re going to throw up) and vomiting (throwing up). Examples include:
- ondansetron (Zofran®)
- hydroxyzine (Vistaril®)
- metoclopramide (Reglan®)
- granisetron (Kytril®)
- lorazepam (Ativan®)
- dronabinol (Marinol®)
- fosaprepitant (Emend®)
- diphenhydramine (Benadryl®)
Antacids
These medicines are used to lower stomach acid secretions. Examples include:
- pantoprazole (Protonix®)
- lansoprazole (Prevacid®)
- ranitidine (Zantac®)
- omeprazole (Prilosec®)
- esomeprazole magnesium (Nexium®)
Pain medicine
These medicines are used to manage pain and discomfort. You can take them orally (by mouth), intravenously (through a vein), or transdermally (using skin patches). You may also get pain medicine through a special pump called “Patient Controlled Analgesia (PCA).” A PCA lets you give yourself a safe and controlled dose of medicine. Examples of pain medicine include:
- Opioids, such as morphine (DepoDur®, Duramorph, MS Contin®), Hydromorphone (Dilaudid®), or fentanyl (Duragesic®, Subsys®)
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as Acetaminophen (Tylenol ®)
Hormones (for females)
These medicines are used to prevent vaginal bleeding when your platelet count is very low. Examples include:
- norgestrel (Ovral®)
- norgestrel and ethinyl estradiol (Lo-Ovral®)
- medroxyprogesterone acetate (Provera®)
- leuprolide (Lupron®)
- medroxyprogesterone acetate (Depo-Provera®)
