IMMUNOGLOBULINS IN ANTIINFECTIOUS THERAPY

Anti-infectious serotherapy has been progressively abandoned, due to t he development of potent antibiotics, and because of its bad tolerance and weak efficacy, except in rare indications, mainly for prevention. Many reasons have lead to reconsider immune therapy in the prevention and/or in the treatment of some infectious diseases: monoclonal human ized antibodies, emergence of multiresistant bacteria, lack of efficac y of anti-microbial agent (especially in some viral infections), a hig h death rate for septic shock and infection in immunocompromised hosts in spite of modern antibiotics. Immunoglobulins can be prescribed as monotherapy or in combination with antimicrobial agents.