Effective Combination Therapy for Invasive Pneumococcal Pneumonia with Ampicillin and Intravenous Immunoglobulins in a Mouse Model

Intranasal immunotherapy for Streptococcus pneumoniae invasive pneumonia with polyvalent immunoglobulins (IVIG) was effective in mice against pneumonia but failed to prevent bacteremia. The combination of subcurative doses of IVIG and of ampicillin was fully protective. Such an approach, successfully applied in the preantibiotic era, offers new perspectives for modern therapies.