Authors: Piers Blombery H Miles Prince Leon J Worth Jo Main Melissa Yang Erica M Wood David A Westerman
Publish Date: 2011/06/15
Volume: 90, Issue: 10, Pages: 1167-1172
Abstract
Patients with multiple myeloma undergoing autologous haemopoietic stem cell transplantation ASCT are at high risk for infectious complications Peritransplant intravenous immunoglobulin IVIG has been used with the aim of reducing these risks Our retrospective nonrandomised study of peritransplant IVIG use and effect on infectious complications in 266 ASCTs for myeloma from 2000 to 2009 at a major metropolitan referral centre for haematological malignancies found no difference between those receiving peritransplant IVIG 04 g/kg n = 130 and those who were not n = 110 with regard to bloodstream infections pneumonia urinary tract or gastrointestinal infections When analysed according to pretransplant therapy conventional chemotherapy versus novel agents there was no significant difference in infectious complications between those who did or did not receive peritransplant IVIG In conclusion our study did not show a benefit for the use of peritransplant IVIG 04 g/kg to reduce infectious complications in a large cohort of patients with myeloma undergoing ASCT In the absence of data supporting efficacy in this context there appears to be no benefit in the routine use of IVIG for this purpose
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