About Dr. Tatiana Yatsenko, PharmD Expertise I can provide very useful information on a variety of different topics, however, my specialty lies in Home Infusion Therapy.
1. Nutrition therapies: parenteral nutrition, enteral nutrition and hydration.
2. Anti-infectives (antibiotics)
3. Chemotherapy
4. Pain management and miscellaneous therapies
Experience Initially, I worked as a pharmacy technician while doing undergraduate work. I then went on to receive my Doctor of Pharmacy degree and now specialize in Home Infusion Pharmacy.
Education/Credentials Biochemistry (University of California Riverside)
Doctor of Pharmacy (Western University of Health Sciences)
Question Last year my dog was treated for lymphoma using cytoxan, prednisone and vincristine. Two weeks after treatment was started he had to be euthanized. Week one of treatment consisted of cytoxan, vincristine and prednisone all in the same day. The prednisone continued and week two he received IV vincristine. After this treatment he never ate again and was euthanized a week later. He was a 150 pound dog. I read chemo side effects are dose related. On the vet bill he received 2.6 cc (cost 78.00). Week two he received 2 cc (cost 60.00). Dose for dogs is .75mg/m2. His BSA I think would be about 1.75. His dose should have been 1.3mg. In researching vincristine I read there is 1 mg in every ml. If this was the case did he receive 2.6 mg week one and 2 mg the second week. If I half the 2.6 cc ans 2 cc on the vet bill then it does come out to 1.3 mg and 1 mg. This has driven me crazy for a long time. Is 2.6 cc of vincristine 2.6 mg or 1.3 mg. Any help you can give will be gratefully appreciated. Thank you so much for your time. Margaret, New Orleans
Answer Dear Margaret!
I'm sorry for the loss of your dog. I love dogs as well, and just recently lost mine.
Let me try to shed some light into the situation. Chemotherapy side effects can be dose related, however, they can also cause side effects even if they are dosed appropriately since chemo is a "poison." In the pharmacy world, the 1mg/ml Vincristine is used to compound chemo. The maximum adult dose is 2mg! You have to remember that sometimes the drug is diluted, however, it does not have to be in order to be administered. If the clinic does NOT dilute their chemo, if vincristine 1mg/ml was used and BSA was calculated correctly, then the dose was unfortunately miscalculated. Is there any way you could find out if they dilute their vincristine?
Hopefully you found the information helpful. Please feel free to follow up with any questions.
