Introduction
Novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has become a global concern since 2019. By August 2021 more than 4,300,000 people have been sacrificed by this disease[1].
No definitive treatment has been found, so it makes sense to consider the effects of possible treatments on the disease. One of these possible treatments is Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIG), which has been reported to have contradictory effects in previous studies[2, 3].
The IVIG is a plasma-derived drug that was first used to treat some immune deficiencies[4]. It has been used as an adjunct therapy in the management of some infections. Among viral infections, this treatment has been used to prevent and treat various viruses such as influenza, viral hepatitis, rabies, measles and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)[5]. Studies have revealed that IVIG can be effective in the treatment of severe acute viral pneumonia such as influenza and para-influenza pneumonia[6, 7]. Antigen clearance and immune system modulation are increase by IVIG [8]. Due to the mechanism, safety and efficacy of this treatment in previous viral infections, some centers have utilized it in severe cases of COVID-19 infection. Despite its efficacy, this treatment is expensive and has various side effects[9]. Thus, the effectiveness and safety of this intervention in COVID-19 infection is debatable. Based on several studies IVIG administration in COVID-19 patients is controversial[9, 10].
In this study we intend to investigate the efficacy of adding IVIG to the standard regimen of COVID-19 infection in outcome measures such as duration of hospitalization, mechanical ventilation, and intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay and mortality rate.