Present Status of Intravenous Immunoglobulin (Ivig) Usage: Survey in Japan

Use of intravenous immunoglobulin in an Asian paediatric population over a 10‐year period

“…Although there have been adult studies of comparable breadth, adult indications for IVIG differ from paediatric indications significantly, in terms of clinical indications and the amount of IVIG used. In the adults from Japan, Australia and the USA, common indications of IVIG use would include CIDP, Guillain Barre syndrome, acquired hypogammaglobulinaemia secondary to haematological malignancies and PID . In contrast to this, our paediatric population study shows that the main indication for IVIG was KD, a condition that predominantly affects children under the age of five.…”

“…We found that over 75% of our cohort was treated for conditions where IVIG was approved by the FDA. This figure is higher than the reported studies in adult and paediatric populations, which ranged between 42–58% . However, if approved off‐label indications such as Guillain Barre syndrome and dermatomyositis were included, then proportions of ‘approved’ indications were higher (more than 60%) …”

“…This figure is higher than the reported studies in adult and paediatric populations, which ranged between 42-58%. 11,12,14 However, if approved off-label indications such as Guillain Barre syndrome and dermatomyositis were included, then proportions of 'approved' indications were higher (more than 60%). 7,8,21 Our study showed that the indications with the poorest outcomes were severe infections and sepsis in premature neonates, with mortality rates of 44.7% and 51.5%, respectively.…”