Liquid and Lyophilized IVIG Equally Effective for Maintenance CIDP Therapy

While different IVIG preparations are generally considered to have comparable clinical efficacy, this has never been formally investigated. Some patients with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP) have reported that some IVIG brands are more effective than others, according to Dutch investigators.

Twenty-seven patients with active but stable CIDP with an individualized maintenance regimen of Gammagard S/D (Baxter Healthcare) were randomized to receive four infusions of freeze-dried 5% Gammagard S/D or Baxter’s Kiovig 10% liquid IVIG. The overall disability sum score (ODSS) was used as the primary outcome scale, with therapeutic equivalence defined as 1 point in mean difference in ODSS between treatment groups.

Repeated measurements analysis of variance, adjusted for baseline ODSS, revealed a clinically insignificant difference of 0.004. Other than a lower occurrence of cold shivers in patients randomized to Kiovig, no differences were found in the occurrence of adverse events. This trial demonstrated equal clinical efficacy between a freeze-dried and a liquid IVIG preparation for maintenance treatment of CIDP.