Background: Common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) is a heterogeneous group of disorders, characterized by recurrent upper and lower respiratory tract infections and some noninfectious clinical complications.Objective: To provide a detailed evaluation of respiratory presentations and complications in a cohort of Iranian patients with CVID. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted on 245 CVID patients who were recorded in the Iranian primary immunodeficiency disorders registry network. Respiratory manifestations were evaluated by reviewing clinical hospital records, immunologic findings, pulmonary function tests (PFT), and highresolution computed tomography (HRCT) scans. Results: Most of the patients (n ¼ 208, 85.2%) had experienced at least 1 episode of acute respiratory manifestation, and pneumonia was observed in 31.6 % (n ¼ 77) of cases as a first disease manifestation. During the follow-up, pneumonia, sinusitis, and otitis media were documented in 166 (68.6%), 125 (51.2%), and 103 (42.6%) cases, respectively. Abnormal PFT measurements were documented in 53.8% of patients. Among these patients, 21.5% showed restrictive changes, whereas 18.4% of patients showed an obstructive pattern. Bronchiectasis was the most frequent radiological finding, confirmed in 27.2% of patients. Patients with bronchiectasis were older at the time of immunodeficiency diagnosis (P < .001) and had longer diagnosis delay (P < .001) when compared with patients without bronchiectasis. Conclusion:This study highlights the importance of monitoring the respiratory tract system even in asymptomatic patients. Pulmonary function tests and CT scans are the most commonly used techniques aiming to identify these patients early, aiming to reduce the rate of long-term respiratory complications.
Background: Congenital agammaglobulinemia is the first primary immunodeficiency disorder characterized by a defect in B lymphocyte development and subsequently decreased immunoglobulin levels. These patients are prone to suffer from recurrent infections mostly involving the respiratory tract. In this study, we aimed to describe in detail respiratory tract complications as the most prominent clinical feature among agammaglobulinemic patients. Methods:A total number of 115 patients were included. Demographic, clinical, and genetic data were collected from the patients' medical records. Among the available patients, pulmonary function tests (PFTs) and/or high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) were performed.Results: Respiratory tract complications (85.2%) especially pneumonia (62.6%) were the most prominent clinical features in our cohort. Among patients with abnormal PFT results (N = 19), a mixed respiratory pattern was observed in 36.8%. HRCT was carried out in 29 patients; Bhalla scoring-based evaluation of these patients indicated excellent (44.8%), followed by good (34.5%) and mild (20.7%) results. Bronchiectasis was found in 13 patients undergoing HRCT (44.8%). We found significant inverse correlations between the Bhalla score and incidence rate of pneumonia, as well as the presence of bronchiectasis. Patients with abnormal PFT results had statistically significant higher bronchiectasis frequency and lower Bhalla scores compared to those with normal results. Forty-one patients were deceased, and here, respiratory failure was the most common cause of death (45.5%). Conclusion: High prevalence of respiratory tract infections among agammaglobulinemic patients and subsequent progression to permanent lung damage highlights the importance of implementing respiratory evaluation as part of routine follow-up program of agammaglobulinemic patients. Physicians should be aware of this and regularly monitor the respiratory function of these patients to allow for timely diagnosis and treatment initiation aiming to improve patients' prognosis and quality of life. K E Y W O R D S agammaglobulinemia, Bhalla scoring, high-resolution computed tomography, primary immunodeficiency, pulmonary function test, respiratory tract complications Key Message Respiratory complications are the most common complications among agammaglobulinemic patients and constitute a significant cause of morbidity and mortality among them. In the present study, we studied respiratory tract complications among agammaglobulinemic patients by means of pulmonary function tests (PFT) and high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT). Furthermore, for the first time, we compared the respiratory manifestations of X-linked (XLA) and autosomal recessive agammaglobulinemia (ARA) patients by PFT and HRCT findings. Altogether, regular monitoring of the respiratory function by PFT as the method of choice and HRCT in those with delayed diagnosis could improve the patients' prognosis and quality of life by timely diagnosis and treatment of the underlying respiratory pro...
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