The role of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) in acute episodes of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) with fever resistant and ventilatory dysfunction

KOUNTOURIS D., Center of Neurological Diagnosis, Athens Greece. Introduction: A particularly severe clinical condition which requires immediate care is septic episodes with resistant fever refractory to antibiotics and ventilator dysfunction in MS patients immunosupressive states. Recent clinical studies of IVIG suggest an improvement in the outcome of severely septic. Methods: Three MS patients in immunosupressive states with a history of fever refractory to antibiotics received a treatment with IVIG with double virus inactivation with a duration of two months after the failure of the antibiotics.. The outcome of the clinical (disability status, Kurtzke scale) and neurophysilogical (visual and acoustic evoced potential) examinations after the end of treatment were compared those of patients of the same age with a similar clinical condition that have not received IVIG nevertheless. Results: In addition to dramatic decline of fever and the immediate amelioration of the condition of the patients who received IVIG a significant difference was found p<0,005 regarding the clinical condition and in terms of neurophysiological examinations compared of the patients who have not received the IVIG treatment. The difference was significant even a year after the end of the two months treatment. Conclusion: IVIG fights effectively septic infection and helps improve the condition in acute episodes in Ms patients. Additionally the immunomodulatory effects of IVIG protect the MS patients for a long time from a potential relapse. Abstract published in abstract book of 10^th European Congress of Anaesthesiology, German Congress of Anaesthesiology (DAK98) paper presented at the 10^th European Congress of Anaesthesiology, German Congress of Anaesthesiology (DAK98) 45^th Meeting of the German Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Frankfurt, Germany, June 30^th -July 4 1998.