Early and late results of intravenous immunoglobulin as potential adjuvant therapies in critically ill COVID-19 patients: a retrospective cohort study

Abstract

Introduction: Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), which is one of the adjuvant therapy strategies, has been started to be used in critically ill COVID-19 patients due to its anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects. Material and Method: In our study, it was aimed to evaluate the effect of IVIG used in critically ill COVID-19 patients in the intensive care unit on early laboratory findings and late lung damage. Twenty-two critically ill COVID-19 patients who met the inclusion criteria were included in the study. Laboratory data of the patients who received 0.4 gr/kg/day IVIG for 5 days were analyzed before the treatment and on the 1st and 5th days of the treatment. For the percentage of injured lung areas was evaluated with chest CT. Results: Respiratory rate and CRP decreased with IVIG, while an increase was observed in PaO2/FiO2, WBC, lymphocyte count, D-Dimer and fibrinogen values, which was statistically significant (p