The Safety Profile of Home Infusion of Intravenous Immunoglobulin in Patients With Neuroimmunologic Disorders

Abstract

To assess the overall safety of high-dose intravenous immunoglobulin (IG) products used to treat patients with neuroimmunological disorders in a supervised home-based setting. The incidence of adverse reactions was assessed in a retrospective chart review of 420 patients who consecutively received 4076, home-based, individual, intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) infusions between January 2009 and December 2009. A total of 90 patients (21.4%) developed adverse reactions related to IVIG administration (2.6% per individual infusion). A total of 95.5% of adverse reactions were mild, and no serious side effects were observed. The incidence of adverse reactions was significantly lower in the subgroup of patients with neuroimmunological disorders who received premedication (18.2% compared with 29.3%, P = 0.02). There was no significant statistical difference in the incidence of side effects among the different brands of IVIG used in this study. The combination of premedication and well-defined clinical, IVIG infusion policies may reduce the incidence of high-dose IVIG adverse reactions administered in a home-based setting in patients with neuroimmunological disorders.