Intravenous immunoglobulin therapy for children with Stevens-Johnson syndrome

Objective. To review the experience with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) therapy in patients with Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) in our institution. Methods. All charts of patients with SJS admitted to Children's Hospital be tween November 1988 and June 1998 were reviewed. Results, Twelve patients with SJS were detected. There were 8 males and 4 f emales, with a mean age 6 years (range 10 mo to 17 yrs). All patients prese nted with high fever and cutaneous and mucous membrane changes, and the dia gnosis SJS was confirmed by a dermatologist. Of the 12 patients with SJS, 7 were treated with IVIG, 2 with corticosteroids, and 3 with supportive care . IVIG was administered in a single infusion at 1.5-2 g/kg, and was given o n an average of hospital day 3 (range 1-8 days). The average duration of fe ver was 8 days (range 3-14) in the IVIG treated patients compared to 14 day s (range 6-20) in the non-IVIG treated group (p = 0.06). The mean hospital stay was 12 days (range 4-22) for the patients treated with IVIG and 15 day s (range 6-25) for the non-IVIG treated group (p = 0.5). No toxicity was ob served with IVIG therapy. Conclusion. Duration of fever was shortened in patients treated with IVIG, although statistical significance was marginal. The hospital stay was sligh tly shortened in patients treated with IVIG: however, statistical significa nce was not reached. Prospective and controlled, multicenter studies are ne eded to further investigate these preliminary findings.