Post-exposure passive immunisation for preventing rubella and congenital rubella syndrome
Citation: Young M.K., Cripps A.W., Nimmo G.R., et al. Post-exposure passive immunisation for preventing rubella and congenital rubella syndrome. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2015, Issue 9. Art. No.:CD010586. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD010586.pub2.
There is insufficient evidence to make direct conclusions about the effectiveness of post‐exposure passive immunisation for preventing congenital rubella syndrome.
Infection with rubella in early pregnancy can result in miscarriage, fetal death or congenital abnormality. This review assesses 12 studies (430 participants) for the effectiveness of intramuscular injection or intravenous infusion of polyclonal immunoglobulins of human sera or plasma origin for preventing rubella and congenital rubella syndrome when administered to exposed susceptible people before the onset of disease. those receiving antibodies 39% less likely to develop rubella than those not given antibodies. In an analysis of the seven studies (89 participants) where participants had been in contact with rubella only up to five days earlier, people given the highest doses used in the studies were 80% less likely to develop rubella than those not given antibodies. Only one study included pregnant women. The studies assessing the prevention of rubella were of moderate quality because of some methodological issues and the fairly small number of participants. Compared to no treatment, passive immunisation seems to be of benefit for preventing rubella. The available evidence suggests that this intervention may be of benefit up to five days after exposure, and that effectiveness is dependent on sufficient dose.
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