[The therapy of gram-negative septicotoxic diseases with pentaglobin, an immunoglobulin with an elevated IgM content (a prospective, randomized clinical study)]

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of pentaglobin, a polyclonal polyvalent immunoglobulin containing IgG, IgM, and IgA, in therapy of septicotoxic diseases. Fifty-five patients with sepsis were divided into 2 perspective randomized groups. Group 1 (27 patients) were infused pentaglobin containing specific antibodies to bacterial endotoxin determinant. Immunoglobulin therapy was carried out during the first 3 days after the group was selected for study. In the other group (n = 28) no immunoglobulin therapy was carried out. During 6 weeks from the beginning of the study one patient out of 27 in group 1 (4%) died because of sepsis, whereas in group 2 nine patients died out of 28 (32%) (p < 0.01). A reliably higher titer of circulating endotoxins and a lower titer of antibodies to endotoxin determinant were revealed during the first 48 hours of experiment in the serum or plasma of patients who died in the course of the follow-up period, in comparison with the survivors.