INTRAVENOUS IMMUNOGLOBULINE IN PAEDIATRICS

Key words: Intravenous immunoglobuline, Children, Therapy

Intravenous immunoglobuline is a blood product prepared from the serum of between 1,000 and 15,000 donors per batch. It is the treatment indicated for patients with antibody deficiencies and it is used in replacement doses of 200-400 mg/kg. In contrast, high IVIg doses generally given at 2 g/kg are used as immunomodulatory agent in an increasing number of immune and inflammatory disorders such as: immune thrombocytopenic purpura, Kawasaki syndrome, dermatomyositis, toxic epidermal necrolysis, autoimmune neurological diseases as Guillain-Barré syndrome and chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, and post bone marrow transplantation. In the paper the Authors review recent development in the understanding of the mechanism of action of IVIg, the major current clinical applications and the most common side effects.