Efficacy of intravenous immunoglobulins in patients with advanced HIV-1 infection. A randomized clinical study

40 adults with symptomatic HIV-1 infection (AIDS related complex [ARC] WR 2B-4B or AIDS WR 5-6) were randomized into two groups, receiving either 200 mg of an i.v. immunoglobulin preparation (ivIg)/kg body weight every other week or no such treatment. Medical care and antibiotic therapy were comparable in the two groups. Frequency of opportunistic infections, "B"-symptoms, number of T-helper cells, change of disease stage (Walter Reed Classification, WR), delayed cutaneous hypersensitivity, onset and clinical course of Kaposi's sarcoma, neurological manifestations and proportion of patients alive at the end of the observation period were evaluated. After an average observation period of 13.8 months, decreased mortality was observed in ivIg treated patients of WR 5-6 (p less than 0.004). Frequency and microbial spectrum of opportunistic infections, the most frequent cause of death, were not influenced significantly by ivIg treatment. No statistically relevant differences concerning the other parameters were observed. A similar beneficial effect of ivIg in WR 2B-4 patients has not become apparent so far.