Successful treatment of immunologic abortion with low-dose intravenous immunoglobulin

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of low-dose intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) treatment in older women with immunologic abnormalities and recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA), a condition referred to as immunologic abortion. Design: Prospective clinical trial. Setting: Outpatient referral practice. Patient(s): Forty-seven women were enrolled in the study. The mean age of the women was 37 years (range, 28-45 years), and the mean number of prior miscarriages was 3.7. Immunologic abnormalities included antiphospholipid antibodies (32%),antithyroid antibodies (53%), antinuclear antibodies (28%), antiovarian antibodies (2%), increased natural killer cells (40%), increased immunoglobulin (Ig)M level (28%), and increased CD4/CD8 T-cell ratio (15%). One patient had IgA deficiency, and three women had endometriosis. Thirty-one of the 47 patients (66%) had more than one immunologic abnormality. Intervention(s): Treatment with IVIG at a dose of 0.2 g/kg within 2 weeks of attempted conception. Once conception was achieved, IVIG treatment was continued on a monthly basis at, the same dose through 26-30: weeks of gestation. Main Outcome Measure(s): Successful pregnancy or recurrent abortion. Result(s): OF the 47 women, 36 received initial IVIG treatment, and 24 subsequently became pregnant. Of these women, 20 continued IVIG treatment through 26-30 weeks of gestation, and 19 (95%) had a successful term pregnancy. Four women discontinued IVIG therapy after 10-12 weeks of gestation, and 3 (75%) had a successful pregnancy outcome. Of the 11 women who refused IVIG therapy, 7 became pregnant, and all 7 miscarried. The difference in pregnancy success rate between the IVIG-treated and untreated groups was significant (P=.001). Three women had adverse reactions during the low-dose IVIG infusion, and these reactions resolved when the IVIG brand was changed. Fetal abnormalities were not observed. Conclusion(s): Low-dose IVIG therapy is beneficial for older women with immunologic abortion. The optimum duration of IVIG treatment in these women requires further study. (C) 2000 by American Society for Reproductive Medicine.