PMID- 17785614
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20071108
LR  - 20070921
IS  - 1542-6270 (Electronic)
IS  - 1060-0280 (Linking)
VI  - 41
IP  - 10
DP  - 2007 Oct
TI  - Frequency of adverse events associated with intravenous immunoglobulin therapy in 
      patients with pemphigus or pemphigoid.
PG  - 1604-10
AB  - BACKGROUND: Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) therapy is widely used in 
      immune-mediated diseases as an immunomodulatory agent and is considered to be a 
      safe biologic agent. OBJECTIVE: To determine the frequency of adverse events 
      associated with IVIG therapy in patients with pemphigus and pemphigoid. METHODS: 
      We retrospectively reviewed data on patients treated with IVIG for pemphigus and 
      pemphigoid over a 10 year period. Patients had pemphigus vulgaris, pemphigus 
      foliaceus, mucous membrane pemphigoid, or bullous pemphigoid. IVIG was given 
      according to a published protocol at a dose of 2 g/kg administered over 3-5 days 
      at prescribed intervals. Patient records were reviewed for information on sex, 
      age, duration of treatment, number of cycles given, number of days each patient 
      received IVIG, weight of each patient, IVIG dose each patient received per 
      infusion, and early or delayed adverse effects reported by patients or observed 
      by healthcare providers. RESULTS: We identified 9892 infusions given to 174 
      patients. Headaches were the most common adverse effects; they were observed 
      during 886 (8.9%) infusions and involved 123 (70.6%) patients. The incidence of 
      other minor adverse effects, including fatigue, nausea, vomiting, chills, 
      urticaria, swollen glands, hoarseness, thoracic discomfort, and palpitations, was 
      0.57-3.4% per infusion and 0.04-1.3% per patient. Hoarseness of voice and 
      swelling of cervical lymph nodes have not been previously reported. Acute renal 
      failure occurred in one patient and was the only major adverse effect observed. 
      None of the patients required hospitalization, and there were no deaths. 
      CONCLUSIONS: Adverse events associated with IVIG therapy are usually mild and 
      self-limiting. The incidence of serious adverse events is low. Identification of 
      risk factors and close monitoring of high-risk patients throughout the therapy 
      are likely to decrease the occurrence of rare serious and less likely fatal 
      adverse effects.
FAU - Gurcan, Hakan M
AU  - Gurcan HM
AD  - Department of Medicine, Center for Blistering Diseases, New England Baptist 
      Hospital, Boston, MA 02120, USA.
FAU - Ahmed, A Razzaque
AU  - Ahmed AR
LA  - eng
PT  - Comparative Study
PT  - Journal Article
DEP - 20070904
PL  - United States
TA  - Ann Pharmacother
JT  - The Annals of pharmacotherapy
JID - 9203131
RN  - 0 (Immunoglobulins, Intravenous)
SB  - IM
MH  - Adolescent
MH  - Adult
MH  - Aged
MH  - Aged, 80 and over
MH  - Fatigue/chemically induced/epidemiology
MH  - Female
MH  - Headache/chemically induced/epidemiology
MH  - Humans
MH  - Immunoglobulins, Intravenous/administration & dosage/*adverse effects
MH  - Male
MH  - Middle Aged
MH  - Pemphigoid, Bullous/*drug therapy/epidemiology
MH  - Pemphigus/*drug therapy/epidemiology
MH  - Retrospective Studies
MH  - Risk Factors
MH  - Time Factors
EDAT- 2007/09/06 09:00
MHDA- 2007/11/09 09:00
CRDT- 2007/09/06 09:00
PHST- 2007/09/06 09:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2007/11/09 09:00 [medline]
PHST- 2007/09/06 09:00 [entrez]
AID - aph.1K198 [pii]
AID - 10.1345/aph.1K198 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Ann Pharmacother. 2007 Oct;41(10):1604-10. doi: 10.1345/aph.1K198. Epub 2007 Sep 
      4.