Role of Immunotherapy (IVIG) in the Treatment of Neonatal Sepsis

Objectives This study sought to evaluate the effect of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) in neonatal sepsis in preterm babies. Methods This clinical trial was done at the NICU of Imam Reza Hospital in Mashhad (Iran) from September 2006 to September 2007. We used a dosage regimen of 1g/kg/day. In this study we had 50 patients with documented sepsis; 25 of them received antibiotics (controls) and 25 of them received antibiotic and IVIG as adjuvant therapy. Finally we compared the outcomes of both groups. Results In this study all septic newborns had positive blood cultures. The most common cause of sepsis in our study was klebsiella (56% of control and 36% of case groups). In both groups we found 62% early onset sepsis. There was no statistically significant difference between mortality rate in two groups (52% VS 48% of case and control, P>0.05). Conclusion This study did not find any significant decrease in mortality rate with IVIG therapy in neonatal sepsis.