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Indication and Usage

Daily administration of Pulmozyme® (dornase alfa) Inhalation Solution along with standard therapies is indicated in the management of cystic fibrosis patients to improve lung function. In patients with a forced vital capacity (volume of air exhaled with maximum effort and speed) greater than or equal to 40% of predicted, daily administration of Pulmozyme has also been shown to reduce the risk of respiratory tract infections requiring the administration of injectable antibiotics.

In our pivotal study, safety and efficacy of daily administration has not been studied in patients beyond 12 months.

Important Safety Information

  • Pulmozyme should not be used in patients who are allergic to any of its ingredients. Pulmozyme should be used along with standard therapies for cystic fibrosis.
  • When starting Pulmozyme therapy, patients may experience change in or loss of their voice, discomfort in the throat, chest pain, red watery eyes, rash, dizziness, fever, or runny nose.
  • These side effects are usually mild and short-lived.

For further information, please see the Pulmozyme full Prescribing Information. If you have questions, please discuss them with your CF healthcare team.

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How the Lungs Work

Understanding
Cystic Fibrosis

Visit CF Living
This online community is a place for CF patients and caregivers to get advice, share stories and learn about others fighting this disease.

Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disease that can drastically affect lung function. Here, you can get an overview of how each part of the respiratory system works, so you can better understand the disease.

  1. What the lungs do

    • How lungs work
    • Healthy lungs take in fresh oxygen and get rid of carbon dioxide and other gaseous waste products so that other parts of the body can function properly.

  2. Trachea and bronchi

    • Trachea and bronchi
    • When you breathe in, the mucus membranes in your mouth and nose warm and moisten the air that passes through your throat and into your trachea or windpipe.

      Your trachea divides into the left and right bronchi, like a tree branch. Each bronchus divides again and again, becoming narrower and narrower.

  3. Alveoli expanded

    • Alveoli explanded
    • These branches lead to millions of alveoli, which are small, thin air sacs that look like clusters of balloons. When you breathe in, the "balloons" expand. When you breathe out, the "balloons" relax and air is released.

  4. Alveoli relaxed

    • Alveoli relaxed
    • The oxygen you breathe in binds to hemoglobin, a protein in your blood that gives red blood cells their color, and is carried from your lungs to body tissues. Hemoglobin also has carbon dioxide bound to it, which it passes into the alveoli within a fraction of a second each time you inhale.

      When you exhale, the carbon dioxide leaves the alveoli, and the oxygen-rich blood returns to your heart. This exchange of gases allows your body to release carbon dioxide as a waste product and retain the oxygen necessary for your tissues and organs to function properly.

Feeling well is only part of the story.

Even if you (or your child) feels well, cystic fibrosis may still be active in the lungs and can cause damage. That is because CF affects the small airways deep in the lungs at first and may not immediately affect lung function. As the effects of CF reach the larger airways, symptoms such as coughing or difficulty breathing may increase.

Pulmozyme may be an essential part of your fight against CF — in those with mild to moderate CF*, Pulmozyme may help improve lung function and reduce the risk of respiratory tract infection.

* Patients had an FVC≥40% predicted. FVC stands for forced vital capacity, a test that shows how well the lungs work. To do the test, patients usually take the deepest breath they can. Then they exhale into a sensor for as long as they can. The amount of air they exhale is their FVC score.