ABSTRACT
Historically, the goal in the production of immunoglobulin concentrates was to formulate a safe and efficacious product that could be administered by the intravenous route, as opposed to the painful and less advantageous intramuscular approach. Most manufacturers have formulated a product which is concentrated at about 5% (weight by volume), and can usually be administered at rates on the order of 4 ml/kg of body weight per hour. As a result, a 400 mg/kg infusion would require about 2 h to administer. This brief chapter will review attempts not to only reduce the time of the infusion by both increasing the rate of administration and concentration (and thus reducing the volume), but also to examine other administration routes of IVIG for specialized indications.
