***TASK*** the task is to summarize an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
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    ***OUTPUT*** the output is the summary of an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
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    Input: Polyclonal intravenous IgG ( IVIG ) was administered as an infusion 6 times every 3 weeks ( week 0 , 3 , 6 , 9 , 12 , 15 ) in doses of 0.1 , 0.4 and 0.8 g/kg BW to determine the dose causing an increase in 12 pneumococcal antibody types above the protective level of 200 ng/ml of antibody N. The dose of 0.4 g/kg BW was found to be optimal in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia ( CLL ) . From the first infusion onwards at least 80 % of CLL patients had increases in all 12 antibodies . Five weeks after the last infusion the antibody levels were still elevated in 80 % of patients with CLL . The dose of 0.8 g/kg raised all 12 antibodies in 53 - 73 % of CLL patients when assessment s were made after each infusion . In multiple myeloma ( MM ) patients , 73 - 82 % and 73 - 91 % of patients had increased antibody levels , respectively , before and after the 4th-6th infusions at the 0.8 g/kg dose level . However , in only 45 - 50 % of patients did the antibodies remain increased 2 weeks after the treatment at this dose . The dose of 0.4 g/kg caused antibody increases in only 30 - 50 % of patients when measured before the 4th-6th infusion . Serum IgG increased significantly only in the CLL patients , whereas in the MM patients it was high from the beginning owing to the disease . Therefore , the pneumococcal antibody levels were a better marker for the purpose of dose finding . The dosage recommendation in CLL is 0.4 g/kg every 3 weeks until week 12 , when steady state is reached . The maintenance dose is 0.4 g/kg every 5 weeks . In MM patients , who have a faster elimination rate of antibodies , the recommended loading dose is 0.8 g/kg , followed by 0.4 g/kg every week as a continuous treatment . Treatment with IVIG in CLL and MM was generally well tolerated . Only 25 % of patients experienced minor side-effects , the most frequent being febrile reactions , shivering and headache Patients treated with allogeneic bone marrow transplantation ( BMT ) suffer from a deficient humoral immunity during the post-transplant period . To prevent infections patients may receive prophylactic intravenous immunoglobulin ( IVIG ) therapy from 1 week before to 3 months after BMT . We have studied the effect of IVIG treatment on reconstitution of immunoglobulin repertoires in transplanted patients . Sera obtained from 13 IVIG-treated and 31 non-IVIG-treated patients before and at different time points after BMT , ranging from 3 days to 3 years , and from 18 healthy controls , were analyzed using a quantitative immunoblot system . The average immunoglobulin (Ig)M and IgG reactivity profiles against antigens derived from human liver , muscle and skin as well as Staphylococcus epidermidis protein extracts were similar in both patient groups and in controls . Both IgG and IgM reactivity profiles are , however , less heterogeneous among the individuals in the IVIG-treated patient group . Around 1 year after BMT the heterogeneity of the IgM reactivity profiles against allogeneic protein extracts is much lower in the IVIG-treated group compared to the non-IVIG-treated group and the healthy controls . This effect remains months to years after the IVIG treatment has been completed . Our results suggest that IVIG influences selection of the natural antibody repertoire mediated by the variable (V)-region during reconstitution after BMT To determine whether intravenous immunoglobulin ( IVIg ) given monthly from day 90 to day 360 posttransplantation decreased the incidence of late infection , chronic graft-vs.-host disease ( GVHD ) , and obliterative bronchiolitis after marrow transplantation , patients were assigned r and omly to receive either IVIg ( 500 mg/kg/month ) or no IVIg prophylaxis .  Participants were registered before transplantation , and 250 patients ( 123 IVIg and 127 control ) were evaluable for events after day 100 . The two groups were balanced for age , marrow source , cytomegalovirus ( CMV ) seropositivity , pretransplantation conditioning , and prophylaxis for infection and GVHD . Between days 100 and 365 posttransplantation , the incidence of bacteremia or septicemia per 100 patient-days of risk was 0.10 in the IVIg group and 0.12 in the controls ( p = not significant ) . During the same period , the incidence of localized infection was marginally higher in control patients than in IVIg recipients ( 0.44 vs. 0.24 , respectively ; relative risk [ RR ] 1.46 , p < 0.07 ) . Administration of IVIg prophylaxis had no effect on survival , the incidence of obliterative bronchiolitis , severity of airflow obstruction , or the incidence or mortality of chronic GVHD . After discontinuing IVIg prophylaxis at day 360 , subsequent recovery of endogeneous humoral immunity was impaired ( serum IgG1 and IgA levels were significantly lower than controls at day 730 ) , and total infections were less common in the second year in control patients than in former IVIg recipients ( 0.12 vs 0.19 , respectively ; RR 0.61 , p = 0.03 ) . We conclude that in the absence of hypogammaglobulinemia , monthly administration of IVIg given from day 90 to 360 does not reduce late complications and may impair long-term humoral immune recovery after marrow transplantation In a study of 63 allogeneic and autologous bone marrow transplants , patients were r and omized to receive the IgM and IgA enriched intravenous immunoglobulin ( IVIG ) preparation ( Pentaglobin ) . Pentaglobin has been postulated to have anti-endotoxin properties and one of the aims of the study was to measure endotoxin levels in these patients together with the clinical sequelae of infection . The anti-endotoxin effects of Pentaglobin were found to reside in the IgM fraction . Those patients who received Pentaglobin were significantly protected from dying from infection in the first 100 days after the transplant , although it was not actually possible to document bacterial infections as the cause of death in the control patients . Peak endotoxin levels were significantly reduced ( p = 0.02 ) in those patients receiving Pentaglobin .  Liver damage as assessed by liver enzyme abnormalities correlated significantly with the presence of endotoxaemia greater than 25 pg/ml and up to 70 % of pyrexial episodes were associated with endotoxaemia . Our results suggest that Pentaglobin is useful in reducing hepatic toxicity and this may be related to a reduction in endotoxaemia Overwhelming infections cause significant morbidity and mortality in the immunocompromised host . There is considerable in vitro and in vivo evidence that the immune deficient state which accompanies acute leukaemia , and , is exacerbated by intensive chemotherapy , contributes to the infection risk in these patients . The most easily documented and corrected is that of impaired humoral immunity . In order to study the clinical significance of the deficit a double blind , r and omised , placebo controlled pilot study was set up design ed to test the feasibility , efficacy and toxicity of using prophylactic intravenous immunoglobulin to prevent infective complications in this patient group . Patients received 150 mg/kg of Pentaglobin , an immunoglobulin preparation specifically enriched in IgM and IgA , on days 0 , 10 and 20 of the chemotherapy regimes . There were no adverse side effects . Patients in the placebo group had a 25 % fall in IgM level whilst IgG and IgA remained unchanged . The treatment group maintained a stable IgM and IgG concentration throughout but had a rise in IgA. There was no difference in the total number of septicaemic episodes in each group but the placebo group had an increased number of non Staphylococcal infections ( P < 0.04 ) . We conclude that intravenous Pentaglobin protects patients against a fall in IgM during induction chemotherapy for acute leukaemia and decreases the number of non Staphylococcal infections A r and omized crossover study of prophylactic immunoglobulin ( IgG ) therapy was performed in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia ( CLL ) or non-Hodgkin 's lymphoma ( NHL ) . Twelve patients with hypogammaglobulinemia or a history of recurrent infections received infusions of IgG or placebo intravenously ( IV ) every 3 weeks for 1 year . They were then switched to the alternative preparation for another year . The number of serious bacterial infections was significantly less ( P = .001 ; Mainl and 's cross-over method ) in the months in which patients received IgG.  Serious bacterial infections showed a trend to be associated with an IgG level less than 6.4 g/L ( P = .046 ; Fisher 's exact test ) Forty-two patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia ( CLL ) , serum IgG levels < 5.5 milligrams and a history of two or more recent infections , were r and omized to receive infusions of  18 g human intravenous immunoglobulin ( IVIg ) or human albumin placebo every three weeks . During the 12 month study 122 infections were documented but only four were associated with neutropenia . Ten patients ( 24 % ) with IgG levels < 3.0 milligrams experienced 65 % of the infections . In response to IVIg there were immediate and accumulative increases in serum IgG levels and an associated decrease in total and serious infections . If three further infections occurred , placebo patients were commenced on 18 g IVIg , and IVIg patients were increased to 24 g IVIg . Approximately 50 % of these cases subsequently remained infection free . The study shows the usefulness of prophylactic S and oglobulin in CLL patients with hypogammaglobulinaemia , and suggests that this may be justified in those with recurrent infections and serum IgG levels < 3 milligrams Treatment with intense myelosuppressive therapy ( including bone marrow transplantation ) has improved survival in patients with various malignant neoplasms [ 1 , 2 ] . Unfortunately , this treatment increases the incidence of infectious complications , primarily during the period of myelosuppression [ 3 ] . Various methods have been used to limit infection during myelosuppression [ 4 - 7 ] . Despite these pre caution s , bacteremia and fungemia continue to occur in at least one third of patients with sustained neutropenia .  Intravenous immunoglobulin ( IVIG ) therapy prevents infections in patients with inborn B-cell deficiencies and hypogammaglobulinemia secondary to hematologic disorders such as chronic lymphocytic leukemia [ 8 - 10 ] . Intravenous immunoglobulin has also been used successfully to treat immune thrombocytopenic purpura , alloimmunity to platelets , and other immune-mediated disorders by a mechanism of immune system modulation [ 11 ] . After allogeneic bone marrow transplantation , IVIG is commonly used to prevent graft-versus-host disease [ 12 ] . During these bone marrow transplant trials , a reduction in bacterial infection was also observed in patients who were not necessarily hypogammaglobulinemic . This finding was initially reported in small anecdotal series but was later confirmed by large prospect i ve studies [ 12 - 17 ] . This effect of IVIG was observed during the pre-engraftment ( neutropenic ) and myelosuppression recovery phases . Most patients in these studies were undergoing allogeneic bone marrow transplantation , for which graft-versus-host disease and its treatment contribute to the rate of infection [ 18 ] . Intravenous immunoglobulin is not routinely used during autologous bone marrow transplantation or severely myelosuppressive therapy because prevention of graft-versus-host disease is unnecessary . Because IVIG prevents infection after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation , it might also do so in other patients undergoing intense myelosuppression and thus may serve as a general prophylactic agent for infections . Intravenous immunoglobulin is expensive and thus should not be used indiscriminately . We design ed a prospect i ve study that r and omized patients who were expected to develop severe and sustained myelosuppression to receive IVIG or no treatment . We specifically wished to determine whether IVIG could reduce the incidence of severe infections in patients with neutropenia but without allogeneic cofactors such as graft-versus-host disease . We therefore sought to determine whether the benefits of IVIG after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation occur as a direct effect of the drug or as an indirect result of a reduced incidence of graft-versus-host disease . Methods Study Design We conducted a stratified , r and omized comparison of patients who either underwent autologous bone marrow transplantation or received substantial myelosuppressive therapy for acute leukemia or other malignant conditions . The protocol and consent forms were approved by the Institutional Review Boards of the three participating institutions : Baylor University Medical Center , Dallas , Texas ; The University of Louisville , Louisville , Kentucky ; and V and erbilt University , Nashville , Tennessee . Patients were stratified for treatment ( autologous bone marrow transplantation or 
    Output:
    
When polyvalent immunoglobulins or hyperimmune cytomegalovirus (CMV)-IVIG was compared to control for HSCT , there was no difference in all-cause mortality .
Polyvalent immunoglobulins significantly reduced the risk for interstitial pneumonitis but increased the risk for veno-occlusive disease and adverse events .
In LPD , no benefit in terms of mortality IVIG could be demonstrated but there was a decrease in clinical ly and microbiologically documented infections .
AUTHORS ' CONCLUSIONS In patients undergoing  HSCT , routine prophylaxis with IVIG is not supported .