Bevacizumab 5 mg/kg can be infused safely over 10 minutes.

Purpose: Bevacizumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody that targets vascular endothelial growth factor. As a result of concerns for potential infusion-related hypersensitivity reactions (HSRs), initial phase I trials used a 90-, 60-, 30-minute initial infusion sequence. We sought to determine if the initial prolonged infusion was still necessary and if an infusion time of fewer than 30 minutes could be safely used.

Establishing clinical guidelines for the management of acute hypersensitivity reactions secondary to the administration of chemotherapy/biologic therapy.

A performance improvement initiative was undertaken to establish treatment guidelines for the management of infusion-related hypersensitivity reactions (iHSRs) secondary to the administration of chemotherapy/biologic therapy and to develop an efficient process to ensure application of these standards in the care of patients at increased risk of experiencing iHSRs. The project yielded a standardized approach that ensures the application of an evidence-based standard of care in managing these reactions. In addition, the effort resulted in improvements in the reporting of this type of adverse drug reaction (ADR) to the institutional ADR reporting program.