Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) may cause thrombocytopenia in rare cases, particularly in older patients with various immune diseases, according to findings recently published in In Vivo.
“Caution is needed regarding IVIg‑induced thrombocytopenia in patients with immune‑mediated skin diseases and immune-mediated muscular diseases,” the authors wrote.
IVIg is a critical treatment option for patients with fetal and neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (FNAIT), working to prevent complications and manage bleeding. It is typically administered to the mother during during pregnancy, though it can also be given to neonates after delivery.
Several cases of thrombocytopenia, defined as low platelet levels, following treatment with IVIg have been reported in the scientific literature. However, this association has not been studied extensively to date.
Read more about FNAIT treatment and care
The authors identified 3,203 adverse reactions attributed to IVIg therapy from the Japanese Adverse Drug Event Report (JADER) database. There were 146 cases of thrombocytopenia in the study sample.
Thrombocytopenia was most commonly reported in patients with immune-mediated skin, neurological and muscular diseases. Additionally, 11 patients had immune thrombocytopenia.
Statistical analysis revealed that patients aged 60 years and older, as well as individuals with immune-mediated skin and muscular diseases had significantly higher odds of developing thrombocytopenia following IVIg therapy.
There are several different formulations of IVIg currently available. In the study population, all six formulations analyzed resulted in at least two cases of thrombocytopenia. This suggests that IVIg may have an elevated risk of thrombocytopenia compared to other therapies, the authors proposed.
“It was considered that IVIg-induced thrombocytopenia was unlikely to be influenced by the formulation method and may be an adverse event common to all IVIg formulations,” they added.
Although this study did not focus on patients with FNAIT, these results could open the doors for future investigation of the risk of worsening thrombocytopenia in these patients.
Sign up here to get the latest news, perspectives, and information about FNAIT sent directly to your inbox. Registration is free and only takes a minute.
