Oral immunoglobulins for gastroenteritis.

Preliminary literature suggests that oral immunoglobulin therapy may be of value in severe GI infections, but the optimal antibody class, dosage, and duration of treatment still need to be defined in larger, controlled clinical trials. Most of the information currently available comes from case series and small, uncontrolled trials. Additionally, there is no clear indication on how to select the best candidates for this type of therapy, since the limited information in the literature comes from different patient populations. In all probability, the substantial cost of this approach to treatment will not be justifiable in most pediatric patients with gastroenteritis.