ANTIBODY DEFICIENCY SYNDROME - REPORT ON CURRENT MANAGEMENT

As a result of a Medical Research Council (MRC) report in 1970 two centres were establishedin England and Wales to assist in the management of immunodeficiency disease. This paper reports the experience of the Birmingham centre in patients with antibody deficiency. A total of 189 patients with primary antibody deficiency were treated from the centre; atpresent 123 patients are being treated. Infections of the respiratory system (90·5 per cent) were the commonest manifestations of antibody deficiency, followed by infections of skin (20·6 per cent), nervous system (13·2 per cent) genitourinary system (5·3 per cent), bone (5·3 per cent) and miscellaneous infections (8·2 per cent). Thirteen patients (6·9 per cent) developed malignancy in three of whom hypogammaglobulinaemiafollowed malignancy. The commonest malignancy was carcinoma of the stomach which occured in five patients. Of the 189 patients 23 (12·2 per cent) have died during the seven-year follow-up period, one-third of deaths occurred in patients under 15. Respiratory complications were the commonest cause of death; malignancy accounted for 22 per cent of deaths. © 1979 The British Society for the Study of Infection.