[Immunoglobulin substitution in the treatment of neonatal septicemia]

The therapeutic effect of a polyvalent immunoglobulin preparation for intravenous use was tested in 82 newborns with bacterial infections. 35 of the children had neonatal sepsis, whereas in the other 47 bacteremia was not detectable. Treatment consisted either of antibiotics only or of antibiotics combined wih immunoglobulin SRK on an alternating basis for the first six days. Immunoglobulin substitution was tolerated without complications. In the group of infants with neonatal sepsis, two of 20 (10%) who were substituted with immunoglobulin and four of 15 (26%) who received no immunoglobulin died. Likewise, in the group of patients without detectable bacteremia, two of 21 on immunoglobulin substitution (10%) and four of the 26 who were not substituted (15%) died. The low mortality observed in the present study was attributed to efforts at early diagnosis and conventional early treatment on the one hand, and to immunoglobulin substitution on the other. To detect possible late sequelae of immunoglobulin therapy, particularly in hypogammaglobulinemic premature newborns, clinical and immunological investigations were performed in the septic patient group at the age of one to four years. There were no indications that administration of immunoglobulins during the neonatal period might have had an adverse effect on psychomotor and somatic development or on the immunological maturation of the infants.