The effects of intravenous immunoglobulin G replacement on perceived health and infection susceptibility\nof patients suffering from immunoglobulin G (IgG) deficiencies should be evaluated in a prospective analysis.\nMethods: Patients with symptomatic primary or secondary IgG deficiencies were interviewed prior to the first IgG\ninfusion (t0) and over the course of their treatment (t1 - t6). The respondents rated their current health using a 100 point\nscale (EQ-5D-5L), ranging from 0 (â??worst imaginable healthâ??) to 100 (â??best imaginable healthâ??). The patients also provided\ninformation on the frequency of infections and of infections requiring antibiotics in the past 8 weeks. A healthy control\ngroup (CG) without oncologic diseases answered the questions once.\nResults: One hundred six patients with a median age of 65 years (21-85 years) were investigated. The median serum IgG\nconcentration changed from 500mg/dl (t0) to 772 mg/dl (t6). The mean number of infections and of infections requiring\nantibiotics decreased during IgG replacement significantly. Current health according to EQ-5D-5L improved from 57 (t0) to\n68 (t6), compared to 73 in the CG.\nConclusion: During the course of IgG replacement patients reported fewer and less severe infections. Their health\nassessment improved but still was inferior to the healthy CG.
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