I.V. immunoglobulin therapy for infectious diseases.

Intravenous human normal immunoglobulin (IVIG) is used as replacement therapy for patients with immunoglobulin deficiency and also for a few other licensed indications. Scientific rationale suggests that IVIG might help as treatment for certain serious infectious diseases that carry a high risk of death and for which there are limited alternative treatments. However, there is a limited worldwide supply of IVIG and the treatment is expensive. Here we assess the evidence on the efficacy of IVIG in certain infectious diseases.