Adjuvant high-dose intravenous immunoglobulin therapy can be easily and safely introduced as an alternative treatment in patients with severe pemphigus vulgaris: a retrospective preliminary study

BACKGROUND

Long-term corticosteroid therapy, often in association with other immunosuppressive agents, is considered the mainstay of pemphigus vulgaris (PV) therapy. Recent evidence has been changing this paradigm as patients who are non-responsive to conventional therapies or who experience severe adverse effects have been successfully treated with high-dose intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg). However, the shift from conventional therapies to IVIg represents a major challenge in the daily practice of non-experienced clinicians because of potential adverse effects and other issues relevant to IVIg therapy such as the necessity for premedication, selection of cases, modality of infusion, patient monitoring, and the cost and length of hospital stay.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this preliminary study was to evaluate and report outcomes of treatment with IVIg in eight selected PV patients meeting clearly defined criteria for initiation of this therapy.

METHODS

Available guidelines for IVIg therapy in patients with autoimmune mucocutaneous blistering diseases were followed. Clinical response, induction and duration of remission, strategies for prevention of adverse effects, and total days of hospital stay in eight patients with severe PV treated with IVIg were retrospectively evaluated.

RESULTS

All patients had an effective clinical response without adverse reactions, leading to a significant corticosteroid-sparing effect.

CONCLUSION

Our results indicate that, when current guidelines are followed, IVIg therapy can be easily and safely introduced as a treatment alternative in patients with severe PV. Careful monitoring of patients, utilization of a multidisciplinary approach, and evaluation of hospital-related issues can help the non-experienced clinician successfully manage patients with severe PV requiring IVIg therapy.

Adverse effect of polyvalent immunoglobulin in the treatment of Guillain-Barre syndrome

BACKGROUND

Acute polyradiculoneuropathy or Guillain-Barre syndrome is a neurological disease which may present with severe forms which have a poor prognosis. The patient's management requires multidisciplinary specialised care. Morbidity has been reported to be significantly improved with initial therapy using high-dose intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG). However, this therapy represent an immunological risk which has remained overlooked by clinicians in the majority of cases and is not clearly stated by the pharmaceutical companies. Therefore, the use of IVIG in the intensive care unit can cause some problems.

CASE REPORT

A 32-year-old woman presented with clinical signs of Guillain-Barre syndrome. The patient received high-dose intravenous immunoglobulin (TEGELINE). Nine days after beginning therapy, she presented with severe immunological hemolytic anaemia; the IVIG was suspected as the cause. The blood cell count returned to normal approximately two months after the onset of the hemolytic syndrome.

CONCLUSION

Despite the effectiveness of IVIG therapy in the management of various diseases, intensive care clinicians should be aware of possible major adverse effects which make a careful assessment of the patient necessary before treatment. It may also be important to consider the patient's ABO blood group before initiating IVIG treatment, particularly in patients bearing A and/or B blood group antigens.

[Insisting on intravenous polyvalent immunoglobulin therapy in polymyositis in spite of the occurrence of sever hemolytic anemia]

A 23-year-old female with polymyositis received high dose intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) therapy. The patient suffered severe hemolytic anemia after receiving first course of IVIg infusion. This adverse reaction was likely due to allohemaglutinin A and B and from or high molecular weight IgG complexes contained in the preparation. Though this effect was observed, the treatment was repeated six times. A mild hemolysis occurred following each IVIg, with no clinical consequence. Involvement of the saturation of macrophagic receptors might explain this partial destruction of erythrocytes.

In vivo administration of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) can lead to enhanced erythrocyte sequestration

Enhanced erythrocyte sequestration is one of the very few major adverse effects of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg). IVIg contains high molecular weight IgG complexes ( approximately 300 kDa) which, in the presence of serum, mimic immune complexes by activating complement, binding to CR1 of red blood cells (RBC) (CD35) and mediating erythrophagocytosis. Four of seven patients undergoing IVIg therapy showed significant drops in haematocrit and haemoglobin that were not due to isoantibodies in the IVIg. Prior to treatment, patients' RBC carried IgG and complement (C') 3d that were not bound as immune complexes via CR1 (CD35). The patients whose RBC bound immune complex-like moieties and showed drops in haematocrit and haemoglobin subsequent to IVIg were young adults (22-35 years); older patients (50-69 years) showed no ill effects. In the presence of complement, RBC of young patients bound IVIg complexes in vitro while those of older patients did not. It is not the absolute levels of erythrocyte-associated IgG or C'3 fragments, neither pre- nor post-therapy, which are predictive of IVIg associated decreases in haematocrit and haemoglobin levels. Patient age and RBC inability to bind the IVIg immune complex-like moieties in vitro both appear to be predictors of resistance to sequestration after in vivo treatment with IVIg.