Prothrombotic and inflammatory effects of intravenous administration of human immunoglobulin G in dogs

• Published in: Journal of veterinary internal medicine 2009-11, Vol.23 (6), p.1164-1169
• Main Authors: Tsuchiya, R, Akutsu, Y, Ikegami, A, Scott, M.A, Neo, S, Ishikawa, T, Hisasue, M, Yamada, T
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adverse effect; adverse effects; Animals; Blood Proteins; Coagulation; Dog Diseases - chemically induced; Dogs; Female; Human immunodeficiency virus; Humans; Hypercoagulability; Immunoglobulin; Immunoglobulin G - administration & dosage; Immunoglobulin G - adverse effects; immunoglobulins; inflammation; Inflammation - chemically induced; Inflammation - veterinary; Injections, Intravenous; intravenous injection; Male; Platelet Count - veterinary; Thrombosis - chemically induced; Thrombosis - veterinary
• ISSN: 0891-6640; 1939-1676
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1939-1676.2009.0402.x

Background: Intravenous administration of human immunoglobulin G (hIVIgG) has been suggested to potentiate thromboembolism in dogs, but supportive scientific reports are lacking. Objectives: To determine if hIVIgG therapy promotes hypercoagulability and inflammation in dogs. Animals: Twelve healthy Beagle dogs. Methods: Prospective, experimental trial. An hIVIgG/saline solution was infused IV at 1 g/kg BW over 8 hours to 6 dogs, and physiological saline was infused to the other 6 dogs. Blood samples were drawn before, during, and after infusion for serial measurement of indicators of coagulation and inflammation. Data were analyzed by 2‐way repeated measures analysis of variance. Results: Dogs administered hIVIgG developed mildly decreased blood platelet concentrations without thrombocytopenia (median, 200 × 103/μL; range, 150–302 × 103/μL; P < .01), leukopenia (median, 3.5 × 103/μL; range, 20–62 × 103/μL; P < .001), and mildly increased plasma total protein concentrations (median, 6.3 g/dL; range, 5.6–6.7 g/dL; P < .001). Administration of hIVIgG was also associated with increases in fibrin/fibrinogen degradation products in all dogs (either 5 μg/mL or 10 μg/dL), thrombin‐antithrombin III complexes (median, 7.2 ng/mL; range, 4.9–14.2 ng/mL; P < .001), and C‐reactive protein concentrations (median, 2.5 mg/dL; range, 0.5–4.3 mg/dL; P < .01). Conclusion and Clinical Importance: Administration of hIVIgG to dogs promotes hypercoagulability and an inflammatory state. This should be further evaluated and considered when using hIVIgG in dogs with IMHA or other prothrombotic conditions.