Hizentra offers two solid advantages over Vivaglobin from a patient perspective. First, it's preserved, so it doesn't require refrigeration as long as the temperature doesn't go above 77f. That's fine where I live, our house temperature is normally in the low to mid 60's, only rarely above 70. It will mean refrigeration when traveling, particularly to Phoenix. I received one Vivaglobin shipment there, and this was in mid-spring, not summer, and all of the ice packs had melted. It was still cool inside, but I wasn't 100% comfortable with that particular one.
The second advantage is an increased gram density. I'm currently infusing 70 ml, Vivaglobin has a density of 0.16 grams per ml, giving me 11.2 grams of meds for that 70 ml. With Hizentra, I can get pretty close to the same 11 grams with only 55 ml of meds. When I started infusing over a year ago, we started at 60 ml and 2 months later upped it to 70. With Hizentra, we're initially going to go with one infusion a week. The infusion time is estimated at about 1 hour 45 minutes, but that's highly variable, so we'll see how that goes.
I'm really looking forward to this switch. I've responded well to Vivaglobin and my IgG level has increased hugely, but most importantly I've had one minor and two a-bit-more-than-minor-but-not-hugely-serious illnesses in over a year, so definite improvement in my health. The Hizentra will be a huge convenience in my ability to travel, particularly with the (currently planned) once a week infusions. I'll still use a small ice chest to transport it when flying, and we'll recover a drawer in a fridge, so definitely good.
Posts
