Intravenous immunoglobulin-induced eczematous eruption in autoimmune neuromuscular diseases

Abstract

Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) have been administrated for the long time in patients with several autoimmune neuromuscular diseases. Eczematous eruption has been described as IVIg-induced adverse effect. The purpose of this study is to clarify the incidence and characteristic of IVIg-induced eczematous eruption in autoimmune neuromuscular disease. We retrospectively collected the data from 92 patients with autoimmune neuromuscular diseases, including 35 patients with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP), 8 patients with multifocal motor neuropathy (MMN), 25 patients with myositis, 15 patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), and 9 patients with myasthenia gravis (MG), who have administrated IVIg in Yamaguchi University Hospital. There are 10 patients (6 CIDP/4 MMN), who had an eczematous skin reaction after IVIg infusion. The frequencies of IVIg-induced eczematous eruption were significantly higher in patients with multifocal acquired demyelinating sensory and motor (MADSAM) and MMN than in patients with GBS, myositis, and MG. In addition, corticosteroids or immunosuppressive drugs had been administrated before IVIg treatment more frequently in patients with myositis and MG than in those with MADSAM and MMN. MADSAM or MMN patients had more frequently IVIg-induced eczematous eruption than other autoimmune neuromuscular diseases. Pathophysiology of MADAM and MMN is considered to be cell-mediated immunity against the peripheral nerve and the accumulation of IgG in both epidermis and dermis of the hand after IVIg may induce the infiltration of inflammatory cells around the vessels in the skin, causing eczematous eruption in MADSAM and MMN.