Use of intravenous immunoglobulin in chronic lymphocytic leukemia. A brief review.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a disorder with multiple defects leading to an increasede susceptibility to infection. Hypagammaglobulinemia is present in about 20% to 70% of patients with CLL. Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) supplementation (400 mg/kg body weight every 3 weeks) prevented bacterial infections in these patients. An ongoing study is being conducted to compare doses of 250 mg/kg/mo with those of 500 mg/kg/mo in 36 patients included so far