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Pediatric Allergy and Immunology
Volume 13 Issue 6 Page 443 - December 2002 |
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| Evaluation of
the relevance of humoral immunodeficiencies in a pediatric population
affected by recurrent infections |
Andrea Finocchi1,2,
Federica Angelini2,
Loredana Chini2,
Silvia Di Cesare1,2,
Caterina Cancrini1,2,
Paolo Rossi1,2
and Viviana Moschese2
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| Recurrent infections are a
common cause of morbidity in childhood. Several reports have
associated this condition to low levels of IgA and IgG subclasses
and/or lack of specific antipolysaccharide antibody response, although
the relevance of these defects in terms of prognosis and therapeutic
approach is still unclear. The aim of our study was to determine the
frequency and the clinical relevance of humoral immunodeficiency (HID)
other than hypogammaglobulinemia in children affected by recurrent
infections. We recruited 67 pediatric patients affected by recurrent
infections. Serum IgG, IgA, IgM, IgG2, IgG3, and specific
anti-Haemophilus influenzae (anti-Hib) antibodies were determined.
Thirty-seven out of 67 patients showed antibody defects (55%). IgA
deficiency was observed in 21 out of 67 patients (31%), followed by
IgG2 (18%), IgG3 (15%) and IgM (6%) defects. Anti-Hib deficiency was
present in three out of 44 patients (7%). A tendency for a higher
occurrence of pneumonia and otitis, although not statistically
significant (p > 0.05), was observed in HID patients compared to
children with normal humoral function. No statistical difference as to
the frequency of mild infections (URI) was found between HID and
non-HID patients. We therefore suggest that the therapeutic program is
based on the clinical status of the patients. Long-term follow-up with
repeated determinations of antibody levels is crucial, however, to
detect those defects that might evolve into more complex
immunodeficiencies. |
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| Accepted 30 January 2002 |
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Affiliations |
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1Department of
Pediatrics, Division of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Children's
Hospital Bambino Gesu', and 2Department
of Pediatrics, Tor Vergata University, Rome, Italy |
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A.F. and F.A. contributed equally to this work. |
To cite this article
Finocchi, Andrea, Angelini, Federica, Chini,
Loredana, Di Cesare, Silvia, Cancrini, Caterina, Rossi, Paolo &
Moschese, Viviana
Evaluation of the relevance of humoral immunodeficiencies in a
pediatric population affected by recurrent infections.
Pediatric Allergy and Immunology 13 (6), 443-447.
doi: 10.1034/
j.1399-3038.2002.02088.x |
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