title: Intravenous immunoglobulin. A promising new therapy for idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura.
abstract: Intravenous administration of human immunoglobulin has been shown to have clinical efficacy in the treatment of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura. Physicians who use this remarkable clinical tool face the dilemma of balancing the safety and efficacy of therapy against the cost, which is higher than that of the more toxic forms of therapy. Cost-effectiveness studies of specific clinical situations indicate that costs for children are decreased by a shortened hospital stay, the need for less antibiotic therapy, and avoidance of splenectomy. Therapy for adults must be individualized and varies depending on whether the goal is a rapid platelet response (eg, before emergency surgery) or avoidance of the risks of corticosteroid therapy and splenectomy. The availability of a safe immunomodulating agent makes intravenous immunoglobulin therapy a potentially useful tool for a wide variety of diseases.
authors: Medical College of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia 19129.
authors: E C
authors: EC
authors: Besa
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D007262:Infusions, Intravenous; D010976:Platelet Count; D011696:Purpura, Thrombocytopenic / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D007074:Immunoglobulin G