In patients with autoimmune diseases who still derive benefit from high dose intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) treatment, some physicians resort to subcutaneous (SC) Ig as a replacement therapy. In this observational study, the authors collected quality of life (QoL) and tolerance data on SCIg in patients for whom the switch from IVIg to SCIg is essential to maintain treatment. Patients with either idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM) or chronic dysimmune peripheral neuropathies (CDPN) treated with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) and who had been switched to SCIg administration for at least three months were included. The main objective was to describe the impact of SCIg on QoL after six months, using the generic Short-Form 36 questionnaire (SF-36). The secondary objectives were to evaluate SCIg tolerance and clinical efficiency. Eight centres recruited 12 IIM patients and two centres recruited 11 CDPN patients. Neither the physical nor the mental health SF-36 component sumaries showed any QoL deterioration during the six-month study period and all IIM and CDPN patients remained clinically stable during the same period. The most frequent adverse effects were injection site reactions (50%), cutaneous tissue disorders (18.2%), and nervous system disorders (13.6%). Two serious adverse events (myocarditis and cerebrovascular accident) occurred in two patients.
