Rational principles for immunoglobulin prophylaxis and therapy of neonatal infections

Immunotherapy was a common method of treating infectious diseases in the preantibiotic era. Serotherapy was a popular approach to serious infections and employed hyperimmune globulins harvested from various large animals. Such antisera needed to be administered early in the course of the disease and unfortunately was associated with significant risks of anaphylaxis and serum sickness. Because of the allergic risks associated with animal immunoglobulin preparations, the development of methods to isolate human immunoglobulins heralded a new era in immunotherapy. This article examines the uses of immunotherapy in the treatment of neonatal infections.