Open AccessHuman Pooled Immunoglobulin in the Treatment of Chronic Pain Syndromes
Author(s) -
Goebel Andreas,
Netal Susanne,
Schedel Robert,
Sprotte Guenter
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
pain medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.893
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1526-4637
pISSN - 1526-2375
DOI - 10.1046/j.1526-4637.2002.02018.x
Subject(s) - medicine , chronic pain , fibromyalgia , neuropathic pain , adverse effect , cohort , prospective cohort study , pain relief , anesthesia , physical therapy
Objective. To examine the use of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) in chronic pain. Design. A prospective multiple‐dose, open‐label cohort study in 130 consecutive patients who suffered from 12 chronic pain syndromes. The largest symptom groups were (number of patients): Fibromyalgia (48); Spinal pain (20); Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS, 11); Peripheral neuropathic pain (12); and Atypical odontalgia or atypical facial pain (11). All patients had insufficient pain relief with established treatments. Pain relief was recorded using average pain intensity values as documented in standardized diaries. A specific treatment protocol was developed, and patients were enrolled over a 36‐month period. Results. Overall, 20% of patients had>70% pain relief and 27.7% of patients reported relief between 25% and 70%. Six patients (4.6%) had moderately increased pain levels for a duration of up to 9 weeks. Good relief, of more than 70%, was found in all major symptom groups. Patients with pain of short duration (<2 years) reported high relief rates (33.8% of patients in this group reported relief openface>70%). No serious adverse events were reported. Conclusions. IVIG may be effective in patients suffering from chronic pain. Controlled studies are needed to evaluate the efficacy of IVIG in these patients. Patients with a good response to IVIG may be models for the study of neuroimmune interactions in chronic pain.