Abstract
We evaluated nine patients with humoral immunodeficiency (6 immunodeficiency with hyper-IgM, 2 X-linked agammaglobulinemia, 1 common variable immunodeficiency) who were being treated with intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG). After the use of the IVIG regimen in a dose of 250-300 mg/kg/4 weeks for one year, the severity and frequency of infections, even in patients with chronic lung disease, decreased significantly. An improvement in pulmonary function tests was observed in four patients who had airway obstruction prior to IVIG therapy. Side effects such as chills and fever were observed in 21 of 91 infusions, particularly in the early months of therapy. Preinfusion administration of aspirin and diphenhydramine prevented these side effects. The inversion of the CD4+/CD8+ ratio was detected in most patients during both intramuscular gammaglobulins (IMIG) and IVIG therapy.
Copyright and license
Copyright © 1992 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.