SCIg...Hizentra

Audra's treatment for CVID is weekly subcutaneous immunoglobulin replacement therapy (SCIg).  Her prescription is for Hizentra.  It contains antibodies from the plasma of thousands of blood donors.

Antibodies that her little body doesn't make to protect itself.

Audra's immunologist prefers subcutaneous administration vs. intravenous administration for Audra.  She gets her monthly dosage of immunoglobluin divided into four doses, given once a week.  This will allow her body to have more steady antibody levels.  When given intravenously, the antibody levels spike on the day of administration and then taper off as the month goes on.  This can result having less protection from illness in the 3rd and 4th weeks after receiving the IV immunoglobulin.  When given weekly, Audra should have a steady level of antibodies at all times to help protect her.

Here are the basics:
~ draw the medication up into a syringe
~ attach tubing to the syringe and prime tubing with the medication
~ put the syringe into the pump
~ clean the skin site with an alcohol wipe
~ pinch the skin up and insert the needle, cover with a dressing to keep the needle in place
~ start the pump, it runs by pressure so the amount of time it takes to infuse is somewhere around an hour

Next...try to distract a rambunctious little girl during the approximately one hour long infusion!!

When the syringe is empty, remove the needle from the skin and discard in a sharps container.

Then repeat 7 days later.

For SCIg the side effects are usually local swelling or irritation.  Some people experience headaches, body aches, and GI symptoms.  Generally, subcutaneous administrations has significantly less side effects than intravenous administration.