Disclaimer: Important information about this document
This document is not a clinical practice guideline. It intends only to provide information about criteria for accessing intravenous immunoglobulin funded under the National Blood Arrangements. Any advice relating to other forms of treatment relevant to the conditions in The Criteria for the clinical use of intravenous immunoglobulin in Australia (the Criteria) have not been subject to a systematic review and should not be relied upon to guide treatment.
Patients and doctors should not use this document as a substitute for expert medical guidance and advice. The relevance and appropriateness of information in this document depends, amongst other things, on an accurate diagnosis, the severity of the condition being properly ascertained, the individual response to diagnostic tests and therapies, and other relevant circumstances in each case.
The Criteria was first published in 2007 after a systematic review that was completed in mid-2006. Another systematic review, of a limited number of indications, was then undertaken in 2010-11 to update the criteria. This review resulted in the addition of a small number of indications, removal of a small number of indications and a rewording of a limited number of indications.
Inclusion of indications in the Criteria is based where possible upon systematic review of the evidence. In the absence of published evidence, information and access criteria are based on clinical advice provided to the development group by clinical colleges, clinical societies and individual experts.
Each person involved in developing this document, and their employer where they are involved as an employee, or the organisation they represent where they are involved in a representative capacity, expressly disclaims and accepts no responsibility for any consequences arising from relying upon the information or recommendations contained herein.
This document was prepared under the auspices of the Jurisdictional Blood Committee for and on behalf of the Standing Council on Health (formerly the Australian Health Ministers’ Conference).
The Jurisdictional Blood Committee would like to acknowledge and thank those who contributed to the compilation of the first and second editions of the document. In particular, we would like to thank the members of the original IVIg Working Party and the National IVIg Criteria Review Working Group.
We would also like to thank all individuals and organisations that provided submissions to the 2010–11 Criteria Review. Principal clinical advisers were Associate Professor John Gibson, Associate Professor Andrew Kornberg and Associate Professor Sean Riminton. Clinical representatives from; the Australian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy, the Australian & New Zealand Association of Neurology, the Haematology Society of Australia and New Zealand and the Australian Red Cross Blood Service Transfusion Medicine Team also contributed to this review. Many other clinical experts gave generously of their time and expertise. All contributions are gratefully acknowledged.
It is intended that this document will be updated periodically.
This document and its updates will be available on the National Blood Authority website at www.nba.gov.au.
This document may be cited as Jurisdictional Blood Committee, for and on behalf of the Australian Health Ministers’ Conference. Criteria for the clinical use of intravenous immunoglobulin in Australia. Second Edition. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia, 2012.
ISBN 978-0-9872519-0-9
© Commonwealth of Australia, National Blood Authority 2012
Save for the content within these criteria supplied by third parties, the National Blood Authority logo, the Commonwealth Coat of Arms, and any material protected by a trade mark, the National Blood Authority has applied the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia Licence http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/au/
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