[Treatment of idiopathic thrombopenic purpura with immunoglobulins]

Twelve patients presenting with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura were treated with injections of immunoglobulins. A lasting improvement was observed in 1 and a transient improvement in 8. Intramuscular injections appeared to be more effective than intravenous injections. The increase in the number of platelets was accompanied by a decrease of circulating immune complexes. The antigen-antibody reaction observed between the doses of immunoglobulins injected and the patients' sera suggests that immunoglobulins might act by enhancing the elimination of some antigens of infectious origin.