The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of treatment with anti-thymocyte globulin in patients with Wegener's granulomatosis, untreatable with cyclophosphamide and steroids.
Materials and methods: Five patients with active Wegener's granulomatosis, either not responsive to standard therapy, or who could not tolerate alkylating agents received a single course of rabbit anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG).
Results: Four patients showed a favourable response to treatment with partial or complete remission of disease activity, during a follow-up period of five to twelve months. One patient had progressive retroorbital granuloma, which resulted in enucleation of the eye. Side effects of the ATG treatment were mild with chills and fever during the first infusion, and development of serum sickness in two patients. Two other patients had labial herpes simplex shortly after the start of treatment, no other infectious complications were seen.
Conclusions: We conclude that ATG treatment seems to be an effective treatment for patients with severe Wegener's granulomatosis.