review article

Oman Medical Journal [2020], Vol. 35, No. 4: e157 

Infectious Complications Reporting in Common Variable Immunodeficiency: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Hamed Zainaldain1, Fatema Sadaat Rizvi1, Hosein Rafiemanesh2, Mahla Alizadeh3,4, Mahnaz Jamee3,4, Sara Mohammadi1, Fatemeh Kiaee5, Hamed Mohammadi6, Farhad Babaie7, Reza Yazdani1, Hassan Abolhassani8, Asghar Aghamohammadiand Gholamreza Azizi4*

1Research Center for Immunodeficiencies, Children’s Medical Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences,Tehran, Iran

2Student Research Committee, Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health and Safety, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

3Student Research Committee, Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Karaj, Iran

4Non-communicable Diseases Research Center, Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Karaj, Iran

5Student Research Committee, Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

6Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Karaj, Iran

7Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran

8Division of Clinical Immunology, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Karolinska Institute at Karolinska University Hospital Huddinge, Stockholm, Sweden

article info

Abstract

Objectives: Common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) is a heterogeneous disorder characterized by hypogammaglobulinemia and increased susceptibility to recurrent infections. Methods: We searched PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases to find eligible studies from the earliest available date to January 2018 with standard keywords. Pooled estimates of the infection prevalence and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals were calculated using random-effects models. Results: We found that pneumonia (67.7%) was the most prevalent infection followed by upper respiratory tract (59.0%) and gastrointestinal infections (36.3%). Furthermore, bacterial complications (41.7%) were higher in CVID patients compared to viral (25.4%), parasitic (18.8%), or fungal (3.4%) infections. Patients with longer age at diagnosis presented with fewer disease comorbidities. There was an inverse correlation between T lymphocyte count and viral infections. Moreover, we found that immunoglobulin M (IgM) serum level was inversely correlated with hepatitis C and gastrointestinal infections, and IgG serum level was inversely correlated with infectious arthritis. Higher numbers of CD4 and CD8 T cells were associated with the lower frequencies of otitis media. CVID patients with infections had significantly lower percentages of CD3 T cells. In contrast, higher percentages of CD19 lymphocytes were found in CVID patients who had a history of infections. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrated that in addition to hypogammaglobulinemia, patients with CVID have an imbalance in the frequency of T lymphocytes, which is in parallel with the higher frequency of infectious complications.

Common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) is a heterogeneous category and the most common clinically significant primary immunodeficiency (PID) disorder characterized by impaired B cell differentiation to memory B cell and plasma cell.1 Diagnosis of CVID is done by a marked reduction of at least two immunoglobulin (Ig) isotypes: IgG with IgA and/or IgM, and impaired specific antibody production against protein or polysaccharide antigens and vaccines.2,3 Likewise, T-cell dysfunctions are reported in approximately one-third of CVID patients and contribute to the more variable clinical manifestations of the disease such as the development of opportunistic or unusual infections.2,4–6 Several reports proposed that CVID represents a heterogeneous disease spectrum with a variety of clinical presentations including autoimmune disorders (AID), lymphoproliferative disease, enteropathy, malignancy, and recurrent bacterial and viral infections.7,8

Recurrent infections are among the first and the most common clinical manifestation of the disease. Acute and chronic infections are a leading cause of morbidity in patients with CVID.7 Approximately, all CVID patients presented with recurrent upper and/or lower respiratory tract infections, including otitis media, sinusitis, bronchitis, and pneumonia.6,9,10 Recurrent infections especially respiratory tract infections (20–96%) and gastrointestinal infections (30–88%) are associated with a low subset of B cells, specifically reduced isotype-switched memory B cells and reduced immunoglobin levels.5,11–14

In this review, we sought to evaluate the existing evidence for rates of infectious complications, and performed a cumulative analysis of all studies reporting these complications. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first systematic review examining the infectious findings in CVID.

Methods

This systematic review and meta-analysis is carried out based on PRISMA statement guidelines.15

Our search strategy composed of three components: (1) comprehensive searching of international and national electronic databases for published documents, (2) hand-searching of the reference section of the retrieved scientific documents, and (3) contacting experts in the field in order to assess unavailable papers.

We performed a comprehensive search using the Scopus, PubMed, and Web of Science databases to gather English articles published up to January 2018. Search strategy keywords and MeSH terms were categorized in two groups and combined: (1) ‘CVID’, ‘common variable immunodeficiency’, ‘hypogammaglobulinemia’, ‘primary antibody deficiency’; and (2) ‘infection’, ‘pneumonia’, ‘sinusitis’, ‘otitis’, ‘meningitis’, ‘diarrhea’, ‘hepatitis C’, ‘skin infection’, ‘gastrointestinal infection’, ‘candidiasis’, ‘upper respiratory tract infection’, ‘tonsillitis’, ‘pharyngitis’, ‘abscess’, ‘conjunctivitis’, ‘CNS infection’, ‘sepsis’, ‘septic arthritis’, ‘osteomyelitis’, ‘bacterial infection’, ‘viral infection’ ‘parasitic infection’, or ‘fungal infection’.

Screening of the gathered documents was done in two steps. We first screened by title and abstract to exclude all irrelevant studies, and then assessed the full texts for eligibility criteria. The inclusion criteria were: (1) English-language studies; (2) study design as prospective or retrospective cohort, cross-sectional, case series, or case-control studies; (3) studies conducted on human subjects; (4) the targeted population were those who met the international (PAGID and/or European Society for Immunodeficiency (ESID) diagnostic criteria for diagnoses of CVID; (5) their subject of the evaluation was the epidemiological, clinical, and immunological features of patients; and (6) their primary or alternative outcome of interest was infection incidence or prevalence.

Additionally, to gain further insight into the characteristics of CVID patients who developed infections, data from all studies which describe in detail the characterization of CVID patients either with infections or without infections was obtained. Review articles, studies using animal models, and studies regarding other types of PID than CVID were all excluded. For studies with overlapping data, only the study with the largest patient cohort was included. Both the steps were done independently by two reviewers, and discrepancies between the reviewers were resolved by the third reviewer.

Two authors extracted data independently from the included studies based on title and abstracts in a standardized Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. Any disagreements were resolved by discussing and consensus with a third author. The following data were collected from all identified studies: name of the first author, published year, the country of origin of the study, study design, the population characteristics, demographics, clinical, and immunologic data. The medical records of all papers were gathered if a case was reported in more than one study.

Aggregated data analysis was done with simple pooled data to provide an overall summary of subgroup data or data from a number of related studies. Data were combined without being weighted, and the analysis was performed as if the data were derived from a single sample. Central and descriptive statistics were reported for quantitative data. For variables with skewed distribution, median and interquartile range (IQR) were reported as the index of data dispersion. Analytical analyses was performed using Mann-Whitney U, chi-square, and Fisher’s exact tests.

Meta-analysis was performed for the prevalence data on infections and various types of infections in the studies of CVID. Given the expected heterogeneity between studies, a meta-analysis was performed using a random-effects model to account for inter-study variation. Heterogeneity was assessed using the I-square (I2) statistic, which describes the percentage of variation between studies that is due to heterogeneity rather than chance. Data analysis was conducted STA

Figure 1: Flow diagram of the systematic review and meta-analysis for infections in CVID.

TA v.14 software (Stata-Crop, College Station, TX).

Results

The results of the literature search and selection process are shown in Figure 1. A total of 16 969 articles were retrieved from the initial search from which 5384 were duplicated studies. After screening 11 585 studies for titles and abstracts, 481 articles were selected, and the full texts were assessed. Of the 481 studies, 366 studies did not meet the eligibility criteria, from which most did not present the data of infections independently, and 36 case reports were excluded. Finally, 79 studies met the inclusion criteria and were analyzed.4–14,16–83 The characteristics of the included studies in this systematic review are depicted in Table 1. The sample sizes of CVID patients varied from 4 to 2212 in a study from the ESID. The studies were conducted in 19 countries with most originating from the US (n = 11), Iran (n = 12), and France (n = 9). The oldest study was carried out in 1972 and the latest in 2018.

Table 1: Main characteristics of the included studies on the prevalence of infection in common variable immunodeficiency patients.

First author (year of publication)

Country

Study design

Recruitment setting and methods

Final sample size
(male and female)

Age characteristics for total sample, years

Pneumonia
n (%)

(95% CI)

Otitis
n (%)

(95% CI)

Sinusitis
n (%)

(95% CI)

GI
n (%)

(95% CI)

Other infection
n (%)

(95% CI)

Desjardins, M. (2018)

Canada

Case-control

McGill University Health Centre and Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Québec

42 (M = 14,
F = 28)

Mean age of onset = 18.1

Mean age of diagnosis = 32.1

26 (61.9)

(45.6–76.4)

     

URTI: 33 (78.6)
(64.1–88.3)

Sepsis: 2 (4.8)
(0.6–16.2)

CNS infection: 2 (4.8)
(0.6–16.2)

Erazo-Borrás, L. (2017)

Colombia

Case-control

-

22 (M = 12,
F = 10)

Age of onset median = 5 (0.5-42)

Median age at diagnosis = 26 (6–49)

Median current age
= 37 (13–63)

16 (72.7) (49.8–89.3)

10 (45.5)
(24.4–67.8)

11 (50.0)(28.2–71.8)

7 (31.8)(13.9–54.9)

SI: 8 (36.4)
(17.2–59.3)

Pharyngitis: 7 (31.8)
(13.9–54.9)

Tonsillitis: 7 (31.8)
(13.9–54.9)

Azizi, G. (2018)

Iran

Case-control

National registry of PID

Children’s Medical Center affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences

72 (M = 41,
F = 31)

Median current age = 24 (33.5–16.25)

Median age of onset = 4.0 (11.0–1.0)

Median age of diagnosis = 13.50 (28.75–7.0)

52 (72.2)

(60.4–82.1)

35 (48.6)

(36.7–60.7)

44 (61.1)

(48.9–72.4)

 

Conjunctivitis: 10 (13.9)
(6.9–24.1)

CNS infection: 8 (11.1)
(4.9–20.7)

Azzu, V. (2017)

UK

Case series

 

4 (M = 3,
F = 1)

Average age at diagnosis = 26

1 (25.0)
(4.6–69.9)

     

URTI: 1 (25.0)
(4.6–69.9)

Abscess: 2 (50.0)
(15.0–85.0)

Sanchez, L. (2017)

US

Cohort

United States Immunodeficiency Network (USIDNET) database

349 (M = 190,
F = 159)

Age range: 3–91

Early onset (2–10) = 110 patients

Adolescent onset (11–17) = 83 patients

Adult onset (> 18) = 264 patients

Age of diagnosis range: 2–76.9

299 (65.4)

(60.9–69.8)

205 (44.9)

(40.2–49.5)

357 (78.1)

(74.0–81.8)

86 (18.8) (15.3–22.7)

Candida: 68 (14.9)
(11.7–18.5)

SI: 86 (18.8)
(15.3–22.7)

Sepsis: 38 (8.3)
(6.0–11.2)

Abscess: 36 (7.9)
(5.6–10.7)

Osteomyelitis: 4 (0.9)
(0.2–2.2)

Conjunctivitis: 54 (11.8)
(9.0–15.1)

Pharyngitis: 73 (16.0)
(12.7–19.7)

Tonsillitis: 23(5.0)
(3.2–7.5)

CNS infection: 29 (6.3)
(4.3–9.0)

Valizadeh, A. (2017)

Iran

Cohort

Children’s Medical Center Hospital, Pediatrics Center of Excellence

120 (M = 67,
F = 53)

Median age, year (IQR) =
20 (14–28)

Age of onset =
2 (0.6–6)

Age of diagnosis median (IQR) =
9 (4–15.7)

42 (35.0) (26.5–44.2)

     

SI:24 (20.0)
(13.3–28.3)

URTI: 39 (32.5)
(24.8–41.3)

Abscess: 3 (2.5)
(0.5–7.1)

Conjunctivitis: 36 (30.0)
(22.0–39.0)

Septic arthritis: 10 (8.3)
(4.1–14.8)

CNS infection: 4 (3.3 )
(0.9–8.3)

Friedmann, D. (2017)

Germany

Case-control

-

58 (M = 24,
F = 34)

Age range: 19–75

     

25 (43.1)

(30.2–56.8)

 

Selenius, J. (2017)

Finland

Cross-sectional

Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa

Adult Immunodeficiency Unit of Helsinki University Hospital

clinics in Kymenlaakso Social and Health Services (Carea) and South Karelia Social and Health Care District (Eksote)

132 (M = 67,
F = 65)

Age range at diagnosis: 9–74

Age range at the time of study: 20–84

13 (50.0)

(29.9–70.1)

       

Çalişkaner, A. (2016)

Turkey

Cohort

Adult immunology clinic in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey,

25 (M = 12,
F = 13)

Mean age =
36.6 ± 13.4

Delay in diagnosis was 107 ± 95.6 months

19 (76.0)

(54.9–90.6)

 

3 (12.0)
(4.2–30.0)

2 (8.0)
(1.0–26.0)

URTI: 3 (12.0)
(4.2–30.0)

Furudoï, A. (2016)

France

Cohort

10 patients were registered
in the French DEFI cohort and seven patients were followed up in the Department of Internal Medicine, Haut-Le vveˆque Hospital

17 (M = 8,
F = 9)

Age of onset mean = 20.1

Age of diagnosis mean = 34.9

11 (68.8)

(41.3–89.0)

7 (43.8) (19.8–70.1)

1 (6.3)

(0.2–30.2)

 

CNS infection: 3 (18.8)
(4.0–45.6)

Janssen, W.

(2017)

Netherlands

Cohort

Department of Pediatric Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Laboratory of Translational Immunology, Wilhelmina Children’s Hospital

55 (M = 30,
F = 25)

-

29 (43.6) (31.4–56.7)

     

URTI: 29 (43.6)
(31.4–56.7)

Kutukculer, N.

(2016)

Turkey

Case-control

Ege University Pediatric Immunology Department

20 (M = 17, F = 3) in case (CVID)

Mean age of onset = 7
Mean age of diagnosis = 8

         

Mokhtari, M.

(2016)

Iran

Retrospective Cohort

Children’s Medical Center (Pediatrics Center of Excellence)

185 total 113 studied (M = 69, F = 44)

Mean age of onset = 5.9 ±4.7
Mean age of diagnosis = 12.7±11.3

93 (82.3)

(74.0–88.8)

 

78 (69.0)

(59.6–77.4)

 

CNS infection: 12 (10.6)
(5.6–17.8)

Yazdani, R.

(2016)

Iran

Case-control

Children’s Medical Center (Pediatrics Center of Excellence)

30 (M = 20, F = 10)

Mean age =
23.43 ± 11.58

Mean age of onset = 6.32 ± 8.57

Mean diagnostic delay = 6.21 ± 5.43

23 (76.7)

(57.7–90.1)

16 (53.3)

(34.3–71.7)

19 (63.3)

(43.9–80.1)

   

Lin, L.

(2015)

China

 

Five cases from Peking University First Hospital

35 cases from China National Knowledge Infrastructure and Wan Fang Database

40 (M = 30,
F = 10)

Median age at onset = 11 (range: 4–51)

Median age at diagnosis = 14.5 (range: 5–66). Average time of delay in diagnosis = 5.3 years
(range: 1–41)

28 (70.0)

(53.5–83.4)

7 (17.5)

(7.3–32.8)

5 (12.5)

(4.2–26.8)

12 (30.0)

(16.6–46.5)

SI:
1 (2.5)
(0.1–13.2)

Abscess:
2 (5.0)
(0.6–16.9)

CNS infection:
1 (2.5)
(0.1–13.2)

Lougaris, V.

(2016)

Italy

 

Pediatrics Clinic, University of Brescia, Italy

15(M = 9,
F = 6)

Mean age at diagnosis = 15 Mean age at the time the study = 27.3

8 (53.3)
(26.6–78.7)

       

Musabak, U.

(2017)

Turkey

 

-

31 (M = 19,
F = 12)

Current age median = 28

Age at diagnosis median =23

Delay in diagnosis median = 14

20 (64.5)

(45.4–80.8)

14 (45.2)

(27.3–64.0)

26 (83.9)

(66.3–94.5)

12 (38.7) (21.8–57.8)

Candida:
3 (9.7)
(2.0–25.8)

SI:
2 (6.5)
(0.8–21.4)

CNS infection:
2 (6.5)
(0.8–21.4)

Arshi, S.

(2016)

Iran

Retrospective Cohort

The Allergy and Clinical Immunology department of Rasol E Akram Hospital of Iran University of Medical sciences, Tehran, Iran

47 (M = 47,
F = 0)

Mean age = 27 (range: 4–63)

Mean follow-up time = 6.8
(range: 0.5–23).
Mean age of onset = 11.2
(range: 1–32)

Mean diagnostic delay = 9

     

12 (25.5) (13.9–40.3)

SI:
16 (34.0)
(20.9–49.3)

Abscess:
12 (25.5)
(13.9–40.3)

Osteomyelitis:

10 (21.3)
(10.7–35.7)

CNS infection:
6 (12.8)
(4.8–25.7)

Dong, J.

(2016)

China

Retrospective cohort

Inpatients or outpatients of the Affiliated Hospital(the largest tertiary referral center) of Qingdao University,

8
(M = 5, F = 3)

Mean age at onset = 32.5 ± 12.6
(range: 15–49)

Mean age at diagnosis =
43 ± 13.7 year

Mean diagnostic delay = 10.5

5 (62.5)

(24–591.5)

1 (12.5)

(0.3–52.7)

     

Gathmann B.

(2014)

European Society

Cohort

28 medical centers contributing to the European Society for Immunodeficiencies

2212
(M = 1081,
F = 1131)

-

288 (31.9)

(28.9–35.1)

     

CNS infection:
36 (4.0 )
(2.8–5.5)

Berrón-Ruiz, L.

(2014)

Mexico

Cohort

Instituto Nacional de Pediatría and Centro Médico Nacional ‘‘La Raza’’ Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Mexico City

16 (M = 6,
F = 10)

Mean age at onset = 12.2

Mean age at diagnosis = 14.6

14 (87.5)

(61.7–98.4)

7 (46.7)

(21.3–73.4)

12 (75.0)

(47.6–92.7)

12 (75.0)

(47.6–92.7)

CNS infection:
16 (100)
(79.4–100)

Maglione, P.

(2014)

US

Retrospective analysis

electronic medical records from Mount Sinai Hospital (New York, New York)

61 (M = 27,
F = 34)

Median age of 47 years (range: 14–89)

33 (54.1)

(40.8–66.9)

       

Ramírez-Vargas, N.

(2014)

Mexico

Cohort

Immunol ogy Division of seven different reference centres in Mexico

43 (M = 23,
F = 20)

Age of onset median = 13.7
Age of diagnosis median = 19

36 (83.7)

(69.3–93.2)

21 (48.8)

(33.3, 64.5)

36 (83.7)

(69.3–93.2)

30 (69.8)

(53.9–82.8)

Candida:
2 (4.7)
(0.6–15.8)

Sepsis:
2 (4.7)
(0.6–15.8)

Abscess:
2 (4.7)
(0.6–15.8)

Osteomyelitis:
2 (4.7)
(0.6–15.8)

CNS infection:
7 (16.3)
(6.8–30.7)

Agondi, R.

(2013)

Brazil

Cross-sectional

Primary Immunodeficiency Outpatient Clinic of the Division of Clin- ical Immunology and Allergy, University of Sa ̃o Paulo, from January 2009 to December 2011

72 (M=35, F=37)

Mean age at onset = 13.8 ±10.7

Mean age at diagnosis =
28.6 ± 12.5

Mean time to diagnosis =
14.8 ± 12.0 years

53 (73.6)

(61.9–83.3)

 

45 (62.5)

(50.3–73.6)

 

CNS infection:
5 (6.9)
(2.3–15.5)

Mohammadinejad P.

(2012)

Iran

Cohort

Children medical center affiliated to the Tehran university of medical science

69 (M=34, F=35)

Mean time of follow-up =
5.2 ± 4.3 years

Mean diagnostic delay = 4.4 ± 3.6 years

53 (76.8 )(65.1–86.1)

10 (14.5)

(7.2–25.0)

41 (59.4)

(46.9–71.1)

40 (58.0) (45.5–69.8)

SI:
10 (14.5)
(7.2–25.0)

URTI:
44 (63.8)
(52.0–74.1)

Sepsis:
2 (2.9)
(0.4–10.1)

Abscess:
14 (20.3)
(11.6–31.7)

Osteomyelitis:
1 (1.4)
(0.0–7.8)

Conjunctivitis:
17 (24.6)
(15.1–36.5)

Pharyngitis:
5 (7.2)
(2.4–16.1)

Septic arthritis:
10 (14.5)
(7.2–25.0)

CNS infection:
6 (8.7)
(3.3–18.0)

Bayry, J.

(2011)

France

Case-Control

-

10 (M = 8,
F = 2)

Mean age = 32.5 (23–66)

3 (30.0)
(6.7–65.2)

1 (10.0)

(0.3– 44.5)

3 (30.0)

(6.7–65.2)

1 (10.0)

(0.3–44.5)

Candida:
3 (30.0)
(6.7– 65.2)

Conjunctivitis:
1 (10.0)
(0.3–44.5)

Al-Herz, W.

(2011)

Kuwait

Cohort

Allergy and Clinical Immunology Unit, Department of Pediatrics (Al-Sabah Hospital), and the Pediatric Dermatology Unit of the National Dermatology Center between January 2004 and December 2009

128 (5 cvid)

Mean age at onset = 0.89 ± 1.34

Mean age at diagnosis =
3.16 ± 3.48

       

SI:
1 (20.0)
(0.57–1.6)

Malamut, G.

2010

France

Retrospective cohort

Ten referral centers in France (six gastroenterology departments, two internal medicine departments, one hematology department, one clinical immunology department), between January 1962 and July 2004

50 (M=26, F=24)

Mean age at onset = 34.5 ± 14.3

Mean age at diagnosis =
36.8 ± 15.6

         

Aghamohammadi, A.

(2010)

Iran

Retrospective

The Immunodeficiency Clinic at the Children’s Medical Center affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences

76 (M = 43,
F = 33)

Age at study = 17 (2–59)

Age of onset = 2 (0.5–46)

Age of diagnosis =9 (2–54)

Diagnostic delay = 5 (1–32) years

59 (77.6)

(66.6–86.4)

       

Ardeniz, O.

(2010)

Turkey

Cohort

Ege University Medical Faculty Internal Medicine Division of Allergy and Clinical Immunology

23(M = 13,
F = 10)

Median age of onset = (F: 12.5 and
M: 15)

Median age of diagnosis = (F: 33 and M: 28 )

14 (60.9)
(38.5–80.3)

21 (91.3)

(72.0–98.9)

21 (91.3)

(72.0–98.9)

 

Hep C:
1 (4.3)
(0.1–21.9)

Sepsis:
1 (4.3)
(0.1–21.9)

CNS infection:
2 (8.7)
(1.1–28.0)

Carvalho, K.

(2010)

Brazil

Case-control

Division of Pediatric Clinical Immunology located at the Federal University of Sao Paulo

17 (M = 7,
F = 10)

Median age at diagnosis (IGR) = 22 (IQR = 13.26)

Median age at first symptoms (IQR) = 12 ( 3.16)

15 (88.2)

(63.6–98.5)

6 (35.3)

(14.2–61.7)

11 (64.7)

(38.3–85.8)

   

Salehzadeh, M.

(2010)

Iran

Cohort

Division of Allergy and Clinical Immunology of Children’s Medical Center Hospital

24 (M = 17,
F = 7)

Median age at diagnosis (IQR) = 102.5 months (2–43 years)

Median diagnostic delay (IQR) = 63.5 months (3–477 months)

21 (87.5)

(67.6–97.3)

16 (66.7)

(44.7–84.4)

19 (79.2)

(57.8–92.9)

21 (87.5)

(67.6–97.3)

Candida:
5 (20.8)
(7.1–42.2)

SI:
8 (33.3)
(15.6–55.3)

Abscess:
5 (20.8)
(7.1–42.2)

Conjunctivitis:
8 (33.3)
(15.6–55.3)

Septic arthritis:
5 (20.8)
(7.1–42.2)

Van de ven, A.

(2010)

Netherlands

Cohort

Thirty-eight pediatric CVID patients of the Wilhelmina ’Children’s Hospital in Utrecht, The Netherlands, were included

38 (M = 32,
F = 6)

9

Mean age at diagnosis =
5.5 ± 2.5

2 (22.2)
(2.8–60.0)

   

2 (22.2) (2.8–60.0)

URTI:
7 (77.8)
(45.3–93.7)

Sepsis:
2 (22.2)
(2.8–60.0)

CNS infection: 1 (11.1)
(0.3–48.2)

Yong, P.
(2010)

US

Cohort

Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia

24 (M = 14,
F = 10)

Age of onset ≥ 2

Median age of diagnosis = 84

11 (45.8)

(25.6–67.2)

12 (50.0)

(29.1–70.9)

12 (50.0)

(29.1–70.9)

 

Sepsis:
3 (12.5)
(2.7–32.4)

CNS infection:
1 (4.2)
(0.1–21.1)

Mamishi, S.

(2010)

Iran

Retrospective cohort

Children’s Medical Center Hospital

26 (M = 15,
F = 11)

Mean age =
6.87 ± 4.15

16 (61.5)

(40.6–79.8)

20 (76.9)

(56.4–91.0)

 

20 (76.9)

(56.4–91.0)

Hep C:
1

Sepsis:
3 (11.5)
(2.4–30.2)

Septic arthritis:
2 (7.7)
(0.9–25.1)

Huck, K.

(2009)

Germany

Case-control

Pediatric immunodeficiency clinic in Düsseldorf, Germany (From 1997–2007)

16 (M = 8,
F = 8)

Mean age at diagnosis = 9 years and 9 months,

Mean age at onset = 4 years and 8 months Diagnostic delay = 5 years

10 (90.9)

(58.7–99.8)

7 (43.8)

(19.8–70.1)

6 (37.5)

(15.2–64.6)

3 (27.3)(6.0–61.0)

SI:
1 (9.1)
(1.6–37.7)

Osteomyelitis: 2 (18.2)
(2.3–51.8)

Conjunctivitis: 1 (9.1)
(0.2–41.3)

Tonsillitis: 2 (18.2)
(2.3–51.8)

Septic arthritis: 1 (9.1)
(0.2–41.3)

Llobet, M.

(2009)

Spain

Retrospective cohort

The University ChildrenÕs Hospital Vall dÕHeb- ron, Barcelona

22 (M = 15,
F = 7)

Median age at diagnosis = 7.8 (Range: 2.5–16 years)

15 (68.2) (45.1–86.1)

   

8 (36.4)(17.2–59.3)

SI: 5 (22.7)
(7.8–45.4)

URTI: 11 (50.0)
(30.7–69.3)

Sepsis: 2 (9.1)
(1.1–29.2)

Urschel, S.

(2009)

Germany

Retrospe ctive cohort

Pediatric Immunology and Infectious Diseases, University Children’s Hospital, Ludwig Maximilians University

32 (M = 15,
F = 17)

Median age at diagnosis = 10.4

25 (78.1)

(60.0–90.7)

22 (68.8)

(50.0–83.9)

25 (78.1)

(60.0–90.7)

10 (31.3)

(16.1–50.0)

SI: 7 (15.9)
(6.6–30.1)

Sepsis: 5 (15.6) (5.3–32.8)

Conjunctivitis: 3 (9.4)
(2.0–25.0)

CNS infection: 8 (25.0)
(11.5–43.4)

Yu, G.

(2009)

USA

Case-control

Stanford Hospital and Clinics and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospita

14 (M = 8,
F = 6)

Mean age = 32 (range: 6–67)

1 (7.1)

(0.2–33.9)

       

Melo, K. M.

(2009)

Brazil

Case-control

Recruited at the Division of Clinical Immunology at UNIFESP (Sao Paulo, Brazil)

16 (M = 6,
F = 10)

Median age at diagnosis = 22 (IQR = 13–26)

Median age of onset = 12 (IQR = 3–16)

Median diagnostic delay = 9
(IQR = 4–12)

12 (75.0)

(47.6–92.7)

       

Malphettes, M.

(2009)

France

Cohort

The French DEFI study (41 Centers)

313 (285 CVID +28 LOCID) 285CVID (M = 119, F = 166)

Median age of onset = 19

       

Candida: 3; 1.0 (0.2, 2.8)

URTI: 258; 82.4 (77.8, 86.2)

Aydogan, M.

(2008)

Turkey

Cohort

Division of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology at Marmara University Medical Faculty

10 (M = 6,
F = 4)

Age of onset median = 4
Age of diagnosis median = 9.4

10 (100)

(69.2–100.0)

7 (70.0)

(34.8–93.3)

7 (70.0)

(34.8–93.3)

   

Oksenhendler, E.

(2008)

France

Cohort

Department of Clinical Immunology, Hospital Saint-Louis in Paris

252 CVID= (M = 110,
F = 142) + 89 other

Median age of onset = 19

Median age of diagnosis = 33.9

147 (58.3)

(52.0–64.5)

 

160 (63.5)

(57.2–69.4)

67 (26.6) (21.2–32.5)

Candida: 2; 0.8 (0.1, 2.8)

Hep C: 3; 1.2 (0.2, 3.4)

URTI: 175; 69.4 (63.5, 74.8)

Sepsis: 33; 13.1 (9.2, 17.9)

CNS infection: 20; 7.9 (4.9, 12.0)

Ramyar, A.

(2008)

Iran

Retrospective analysis

Children Medical Center Hospital as the referral center for primary immunodeficiency disorders

7 (M = 5,
F = 2)

-

5 (71.4)

(29.0–96.3)

5 (71.4)

(29.0, 96.3)

4 (57.1)

(18.4–90.1)

 

Abscess: 7 (100)
(64.6–100)

Rezaei, N.

2008

Iran

 

Iranian Primary Immunodeficiency Registry- recruited from among the medical personnel of the Children’s Medical Center Hospital

25 (M = 18,
F = 7)

Median age at onset = 13 months (range : 1–480)

Median age at diagnosis = 97 months (range: 18–513)

Median diagnostic delay = 45 months (2-452)

24 (96.0)

(79.6–99.9)

17 (68.0)

(46.5–85.1)

19 (76.0)

(54.9–90.6)

13 (52.0) (31.3–72.2)

Candida: 6 (24.0)
(9.4–45.1)

Osteomyelitis: 1 (4.0)
(0.1–20.4)

Conjunctivitis: 9 (36.0)
(18.0–57.5)

Septic arthritis: 6( 24.0)
(9.4–45.1)

CNS infection: 1 (4.0)
(0.1–20.4)

Sève, P.

(2008)

France

Retrospective cohort

Department of Internal Medicine, Hotel Dieu, 1 place de l’Hospital

18 (M = 9,
F = 9)

14

Median age of onset = 27.5 years Median age of diagnosis = 6

       

URTI: 8 (57.1)
(32.6–78.6)

Ward, C.

(2008)

UK

Cohort

Department
of Immunology at the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals

108

-

       

Hep C: 6 (12.8)
(4.8–25.7)

Johnston, D. T.

(2007)

US

Retrospective analysis

Consecutive patients with CVID9 who had attended the Adult Primary Immunodeficiency Clinic, University of Alabama at Birmingham

55 (M = 28,
F = 27)

-

34 (61.8)

(47.7–74.6)

 

41; 74.5

(61.0, 85.3)

   

Quinti, I.

(2007)

ITALY

Cohort

26 Italian Centers belonging to the Italian Primary Immunodeficiency Network

224 (M = 111, F = 1 13)

Mean age of onset = 26.6
Mean age of diagnosis = 8.9

110 (49.1)

(42.4–55.9)

87 (38.8)

(32.4–45.6)

121 (54.0)

(47.3–60.7)

 

Candida:20 (8.9)
(5.5–13.5)

Hep C: 15 (34.9)
(21.0–50.9)

Sepsis: 5 (2.2)
(0.7–5.1)

Septic arthritis: 5 (2.2)
(0.7–5.1)

CNS infection: 3 (1.3)
(0.3,–3.9)

Khodadad, A.

2007

Iran

Retrospective cohort

Iranian Primary Immunodeficiency Registry

39 (M = 24,
F = 15)

Mean age = 16 ± 12

         

Alachkar, H.

(2006)

UK

Cohort

regional primary immunodeficiency clinics in Manchester, United Kingdom, in 2004—5

34

-

33 (97.1) (84.7–99.9)

       

Ogershok, P..

(2006)

West Virginia

Cohort

children younger than 18 years who presented with CVID between the years of 1992 to 2005 to the West Virginia University immunology clinic after approval of the local institutional review board

12 (M = 8,
F = 4)

Mean age of onset = 8

Mean age of diagnosis = 8.33

7 (58.3)
(27.7–84.8)

8 (66.7)

(34.9–90.1)

9 (75.0)

(42.8–94.5)

3 (25.0) (5.5–57.2)

 

Carbone, J.

2006

Spain

Case-control

-

14 (M = 8,
F = 6)

Mean age = 37.4 (21–68)

11 (78.6)
(49.2–95.3)

2 (14.3) (1.8–42.8)

5 (35.7) (12.8–64.9)

7 (50.0) (23.0–77.0)

Conjunctivitis: 2 (14.3)
(1.8–42.8)

Viallard, J.

2006

France

Case-control

-

50 (M = 19,
F = 31)

Median age = 38 (17–77)

23 (46.0

(31.8–60.7)

5 (10.0) (3.3–21.8)

40 (80.0)

(66.3–90.0)

9 (18.0) (8.6–31.4)

Pharyngitis: 16 (32.0)
(19.5–46.7)

Fevang, B.

(2005)

Norway

Case-control

Section of Clinical Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Medical Department, Rikshospitalet University Hospital, Oslo

71 (M = 40,
F = 31)

Median age = 44 (29–56)

Median age of onset = 18 (6–35)

Median age at diagnosis = 36 (20–49)

38 (53.5) (41.3–65.5)

     

URTI: 46 (64.8)
(53.2–74.9)

Thickett, K.

(2002)

Birmingham

Retrospective cohort

During 1997/1998, patients with CVID attending the regional immunology clinic

47 (M = 27,
F = 20)

Median age (range) = 45.5 (22–81)

Median age at diagnosis (range) = 35.0 (5–72)

Median time from first symptoms to diagnosis (range) = 4.0 (0.8–45) years

9 (19.1)

(9.1–33.3)

 

22 (46.8) (32.1–61.9)

   

Cunningham-Rundles, C.

2002

US

Cohort

-

5 (M = 1,
F = 4)

or

248

Mean age at diagnosis = 33 (range: 13–46)

2 (40.0)

(5.3–85.3)

1 (20.0)

(0.5–71.6)

   

URTI: 1 (20.0)
(3.6–62.4)

Sepsis: 3 (1.2)
(0.3–3.5)

Abscess: 4 (1.6)
(0.4–4.1)

Osteomyelitis:
2 (0.8)
(0.1–2.9)

Septic arthritis: 2 (0.8)
(0.1–2.9)

Guazzi, V.

(2002)

Italy

Case-control

Seventeen patients affected by CVID and followed at the Division of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, University of Rome ‘La Sapienza’, were included

17 (M=8, F=9)

Age range = 24–61 (mean = 47)

       

Hep C:
3 (17.6)
(3.8–43.4)

Quinti, I.

(2002)

16 countries

Cross-sectional

A questionnaire was sent to 125 clinical centers from 26 European countries

952

Mean age (range) = 47.8 (10–81)

       

Hep C:
50 (5.3)
(3.9–6.9)

Kainulainen, L.

(2001)

Finland

Cohort

The Finnish Social Insurance Institute maintains a central register of patients with primary hypogammaglobulinemia

97 (M = 54, F = 43)

or

18

Median age = 33 years

Median age at diagnosis = 32 (0.5–73.0)

Duration of symptoms before diagnosis (median) = 5 years (0.2–37.0)

63 (66.3)

(55.9–75.7)

28 (29.5)

(20.6, 39.7)

57 (60.0)

(49.4, 69.9)

 

Conjunctivitis:
9 (9.5)
(4.4–17.2)

CNS infection:
6 (6.3)
(2.4–13.2)

Martinez Garcia, M. A.

(2001)

Spain

Cross-sectional

Departments of Allergology, Internal Medicine, Pediatrics and Pneumology of hospital Universitario La Fe, Valencia, Spain

19 (M = 12, F = 7)

Mean age at onset = 14.7

Mean age at diagnosis = 23.2

14 (73.7)

(48.8–90.9)

12 (63.2)

(38.4–83.7)

12 (63.2)

(38.4–83.7)

 

Candida:
8 (42.1)
(20.3–66.5)

URTI:
19 (100)
(83.2–100.0)

Nijenhuis, T.

(2001)

Netherlands

Case series

Starting with three affected family members (II:17, III:14 and IV:6; Fig. 1), we set out to analyze the pedigree

6 (M = 2, F = 4)

-

3 (50.0)

(18.8–81.2)

   

1 (16.7)

(0.4–64.1)

SI:
1 (16.7)
(0.4–64.1)

URTI:
3 (50.0)
(18.8–81.2)

Bjóro, K.

(1999)

Norway

Case-control

Section of Clinical Immunology and Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, The National Hospital, Oslo

58

Median age = 44 (14–76)

       

Hep C:
6 (10.3)
(3.9–21.2)

Aukrust, P.

(1999)

Norway

Case-control

-

20 (M = 8, F = 12)

Median age =43 (25–63) years

   

6 (30.0)

(11.9–54.3)

   

Kainulainen, L.

(1999)

Finland

Cohort

Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland

18 (M = 8,
F = 10)

Median age = 36 (7–69)

Mean age at diagnosis = 31.5

Mean diagnostic delay = 6.3 years

14 (77.8) (52.4–93.6)

5 (29.5) (20.6–39.7)

10 (55.6) (30.8–78.5)

   

Cunningham-Rundles, C.

(1999)

US

Case series

Mount Sinai Medical
Center at Memorial Hospital in New York City, from 1973 to 1986 and at Mount Sinai Medical Center from 1986 to 1999, over a 25-year period

248 (M = 102, F = 146)

Median age of onset = F:28 and M:23
Median age of diagnosis = F:29 and M:33

190 (76.6)

(70.8–81.7)

     

Candida:
3 (1.2)
(0.3–3.5)

Hep C:
14 ( 5.6)
(3.1–9.3)

URTI:
243 (98.0)
(95.4–99.3)

CNS infection:
4 (1.6)
(0.4–4.1)

Nordoy, I.

(1998)

Norway

Case-control

Section of Clinical Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Rikshospitalet

31 (M = 13,
F = 18)

-

   

7 (9.7)

(2.0–25.8)

 

Hep C:
2 (6.5)
(0.8–21.4)

Morris, A.

(1998)

UK

 

Medical Research Council Immunodeficiency Clinic, Royal Free Hospital, London

77 (M = 41,
F = 36)

Mean age = 46

Mean age at diagnosis = 26.6

       

Hep C:
3 (4.3)
(0.9–12.2)

Aukrust, P.

(1996)

Norway

Case-control

-

24 (M = 9,
F = 15)

Median age = 38 (21–74)

   

9 (37.5)

(18.8–59.4)

 

Hep C:
2 (8.3)
(1.0–27.0)

Rump, J. A.

(1995)

Germany

Case-control

-

15(M = 6,
F = 9)

Mean age = 44.4±13.8

       

SI:
4 (30.8)
(9.1–61.4)

Herbst, E. W.

(1994)

Germany

Case-control

Institute of Pathology
and *Department of Internal Medicine, University of Freiburg

17 (M = 7,
F = 10) in case (CVID)

-

   

17 (100)

(80.5–100.0)

 

Candida:
2 (11.8)
(1.5–36.4)

SI:
2 (11.8)
(1.5–36.4)

Conjunctivitis:
3 (17.6)
(3.8–43.4)

Tonsillitis: 17 (100)
(80.5–100.0)

Singh, Y.

(1994)

India

Retrospective cohort

Clinical Immunology Services of The All

India Institute of Medical Sciences

14(M = 10,
F = 4)

Mean age = 12.1 (range: 2–40)

12 (85.7) (57.2–98.2)

     

URTI: 6 (42.9)
(17.7–71.1)

Aukrust, P.

(1994)

Norway

Case-control

Medical Department A, University of Oslo, National Hospital, Rikshospitalet

25 (M = 9,
F = 16) in case (CVID)

Age of onset = 2

   

8 (30)
(11.9–54.3)

 

Hep C: 1;

Pandolfi, F.

(1993)

USA

Case-control

Department of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, La Sapienza University of Rome

40 (M = 19,
F = 21)

9

Mean age of onset = 28.5

8 (88.9)

(51.8–99.7)

 

6 (66.7)

(29.9–92.5)

 

Hep C:
1 (2.5)
(0.1–13.2)

URTI:
9 (100)
(66.4–100.0)

Sweinberg, S..

(1991)

USA

Retrospective

Immunology clinic at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

between 1975 and 1988

12 (M = 6,
F = 6)

Mean age = 23.5±7.9

Mean age at onset = 8.5±9.8 years

Mean age at diagnosis = 12.5±9.3

Mean diagnostic delay = 4.1±4.2 years

10 (83.3) (51.6–97.9)

       

Lebranchu, Y.

(1991)

France

Case-control

-

9 (M = 3.
F = 6)

Mean age = 16–55 (range = 16–55)

7 (77.8)
(40.0–97.2)

 

8 (88.9) (51.8–99.7)

1 (11.1) (0.3–48.2)

 

Hansel, T.

(1987)

UK

Retrospective cohort

The regional immunology laboratory in Birmingham

161 (M = 96,
F = 65)

-

145 (90.1)

(84.4–94.2)

     

URTI: 36 (22.4)
(16.6–29.4)

Sepsis: 27 (16.8)
(11.4–23.5)

Septic arthritis: 3 (1.9)
(0.4–5.3)

CNS infection: 8 (5.0)
(2.2–9.6)

Conley, M..

(1986)

US

Case series

All patients followed at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia between 1980 and 1985. All patients followed at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia between 1980 and 1985

8 (M = 3,
F = 5)

Mean age = 14.83

Mean age at onset = 1.78

Mean Age at diagnosis = 5.5

5 (62.5)

(24.5–91.5)

8 (100)

(63.1–100.0)

7 (87.5)

(47.3–99.7)

5 (62.5) (24.5–91.5)

SI: 1 (12.5)
(2.2–47.1)

CNS infection: 1 (12.5)
(0.3–52.7)

Gajl-Peczalska, K.

(1973)

US

Case-control

-

9 (M = 6,
F = 3)

Mean age = 29.6

8 (88.9)
(51.8–99.7)

5 (55.6) (21.2–86.3)

5 (55.6) (21.2–86.3)

 

SI:1 (11.1)
(2.0–43.5)

Conjunctivitis: 1 (11.1)
(0.3– 48.2)

PID: primary immunodeficiency; URTI: upper respiratory tract infection; CNS: central nervous system; SI: skin infection; IQR: interquartile range; CI: confidence interval.


Figure 2: Forest plot and pooled prevalence of pneumonia.

Table 2: Pooled prevalence of various infections among the common variable immunodeficiency patients.

Infections

Frequency of study

Sum of sample size, sum of positive case

Prevalence range
%

Pooled prevalence
(95% CI)

I2
%

Pneumonia

58

3937, 2294

19.1–100

67.7 (61.5–74.0)

94.8

URTI

20

1477, 978

12.0–100

59.0 (45.5–72.4)

98.1

Sinusitis

44

1339, 2187

6.3–100

57.6 (50.1–65.2)

93.7

Otitis media

32

1471, 628

10.0–100

46.5 (38.3–54.8)

91.0

Bacterial infection

19

950, 274

5.3–100

41.7 (18.8–64.6)

99.4

Tonsillitis

4

507, 49

5.0–100

38.9 (20.3–98.1)

99.5

Gastrointestinal infection

26

1635, 409

0–87.5

36.3 (26.5–46.2)

97.2

Viral infection

26

1837, 472

1.6–100

25.4 (13.0–37.7)

98.9

Parasitic infection

22

1344, 163

1.9–87.0

18.8 (13.5–24.0)

91.9

Pharyngitis

4

598, 101

7.2–32.0

18.8 (9.6–28.1)

81.2

Skin infection

17

938, 178

2.5–36.4

17.1 (11.9 - 22.4)

71.8

Abscess

11

1084, 91

1.6–100

16.9 (10.4–23.3)

94.4

Conjunctivitis

13

975, 154

9.1–36.0

16.9 (12.1–21.7)

64.7

CNS infection

25

3141, 192

1.3–100

11.2 (7.3–15.1)

96.1

Sepsis

14

1632, 128

1.2–22.2

7.3 (4.4–10.3)

83.0

Candidiasis

12

1367, 125

0.8–42.9

7.0 (5.8 –13.9)

90.3

Hepatitis C

14

1870, 108

1.2–34.9

5.7 (3.4–8.0)

72.8

Septic arthritis

9

908, 44

0.8–24.0

5.0 (2.3–7.7)

75.7

Fungal infection

11

1458, 51

1.1–46.9

3.4 (1.4–5.5)

75.1

URTI: upper respiratory tract infection; CNS: central nervous system; CI: confidence intarval; I2: I-square.

Figure 3: Forest plot and pooled prevalence of otitis media.

Figure 4: Forest plot and pooled prevalence of sinusitis.

Table 3: Demographic and corresponding immunologic data of CVID patients with and without infection.

Parameters

Total

(n = 404)

Patients with infection (n = 264)

Patients without infection (n = 140)

p-value

Sex ratio (M/F), n = 291

155/136

123/108

32/28

0.990

Consanguinity (Yes/No), n = 30

18/12

16/11

2/1

1.000

Age at onset, years median (IQR), n = 49

20.0 (20.0)

14.0 (21.0)

24.0 (18.2)

0.296

Age at diagnosis, years median (IQR), n = 96

12.0 (27.0)

10.0 (13.9)

28.0 (24.0)

0.003**

Diagnostic delay, years median (IQR), n = 30

4.0 (8.8)

2.1 (5.3)

4.0 (8.7)

0.343

IgG mg/dL, median (IQR), n = 193

276.0 (285.5)

272.5 (250.2)

280.0 (326.0)

0.406

IgA mg/dL, median (IQR), n = 149

9.0 (24.5)

6.0 (19.4)

10.0 (32.2)

0.129

IgM mg/dL, median (IQR), n = 149

10.0 (26.0)

17.0 (35.0)

10.0 (23.7)

0.051*

CD3+ lymphocytes, cell/mL, n = 40

947.5 (832.7)

478.0 (748.7)

979.0 (678.1)

0.013**

CD4+ T cells, cell/mL, n = 38

550.0 (274.5)

429.0 (NA)

550.0 (271.0)

0.626

CD8+ T cells, cell/mL, n = 38

572.5 (482.7)

375.0 (NA)

580.0 (428.0)

0.570

CD19+ lymphocytes, cell/mL, n = 65

232.0 (237.1)

283.0 (294.0)

146.0 (174.6)

0.027**

CVID: common variable immunodeficiency; M: male; F: female; IQR: interquartile range; Ig: immunoglobulin.
Note: For age, age at onset, age at diagnosis, delay in diagnosis, the median is shown [with 25th and 75th percentiles]. Mann-Whitney U test for a numerical variable and the chi-square test or Fisher’s exact test for the nominal variable was used.
*p-value is statistically significant < 0.050.

Our findings showed that respiratory tract infection was the most frequent infectious complications in patients with CVID. Pneumonia prevalence was between 19.1% and 100%, and based on random effect model, the pooled prevalence was 67.7% (95% confidence intervals: 61.5–74.0; I2 = 94.8) and it was the most prevalent infection [Figure 2], followed by upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) with a prevalence of 59.0%. Sinusitis, otitis media, and tonsillitis showed higher prevalence among URTIs with 57.6%, 46.5%, and 38.9%, respectively. Figures 3 and 4 represent the forest plot and pooled prevalence of sinusitis and otitis media. Forest plot of prevalent infections did not show any trend of prevalence over time
[Figures 2, 3, and 4]. Gastrointestinal infection with a prevalence of 36.3% was the second most infectious complications in CVID patients. In contrast, osteomyelitis was the least reported infection among patients with CVID. Additionally, bacterial infections were more reported in CVID patients compared with viral, parasitic, or fungal infections (41.7% vs. 25.4%, 18.8%, or 3.4%, respectively). Detailed information regarding the prevalence of infections are depicted in Table 2.

Based on meta-regression analyses, there were several significant immunological characteristics that explain the following types of infections prevalence. By increasing the diagnosis age by one year, there was a decrease in the prevalence of the said diseases, pneumonia by 1.2%, sinusitis by 2.5%, gastrointestinal infections by 1.6%, and infectious arthritis by 0.9% (p = 0.009, p = 0.006, p = 0.016, and p = 0.018, respectively). Moreover, per 100 mg/dL increase in IgM serum level, the prevalence of hepatitis C and gastrointestinal infections showed a decrease of 6.6% (p = 0.006) and 1.2% (p = 0.090), respectively. Also, per 100 mg/dL increase in IgG serum level, there was a decrease in prevalence of infectious arthritis by 4.4% (p = 0.037), and per 100 cell/mL increase in CD3+ T cells, the prevalence of viral infections showed a decrease of 2.7% (p = 0.016).

In order to obtain more insight into the infectious characteristics of CVID patients, we compared demographic and corresponding immunologic data of CVID patients with and without infections in 24 completely defined studies. These studies comprised a total of 404 patients with CVID, of which 264 patients had a history of at least one known infection. CVID patients with infections showed significantly lower percentage of CD3+ T cells compared to CVID patients without infections (478.0 (748.7) vs. 979.0 (678.1), p = 0.013). Also, the median (IQR) age at diagnosis for CVID patients with infection was 10.0 (13.9) years and was significantly lower than that of CVID patients without infection (p = 0.003). Moreover, the median (IQR) age at onset of symptoms, and IgA and IgM levels in CVID patients having infections were lower than that of patients without infection even though it was not statistically significant. CVID patients with a history of infection had lower percentages of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells compared to CVID patients without infections, although this was not statistically significant. In contrast, higher percentages of CD19+ lymphocytes (283.0 (294.0) vs. 146.0 (174.6), p = 0.027) were found in CVID patients with a history of infections compared to patients without this history. The detailed compared parameters are shown in Table 3.

Discussion

Infections are the main characteristic findings and leading cause of morbidity and mortality in CVID patients. Although, over the past years early diagnosis and therapeutic strategies of CVID have been improved, yet there are accumulating results from epidemiological studies proving a high burden of infectious complications in these patients leading to a high incidence of deaths. Several studies have reported various prevalence rates of different infections; however, almost all of them are quite univocal to the fact that upper and/or lower respiratory infections are the most prevalent infectious complication among these patients. The highest and the lowest prevalence of upper respiratory infections were reported by Martínez García et al,16 and Pandolfi et al,17 at 100% and Çalişkaner et al,18 at 12.0%, respectively. However, the results of meta-analysis showed that the pooled prevalence of URTIs was 59.0%.

Pneumonia is estimated to be the leading cause of lower respiratory infection, morbidity, and mortality globally in CVID patients.84 There is a high prevalence of pneumonia among patients with CVID reported by large cohort studies conducted by Hansel et al,19 Mokhtari et al,20 and Cunningham-Rundles et al,6 with frequencies of 90.1%, 82.3%, and 76.6%, respectively. In this study, pneumonia was assessed and reported in 58 studies, and based on the results of the random effect method, the pooled prevalence of pneumonia in total CVID patients was 67.7%. Therefore, we can conclude that pneumonia is one of the main complications of these patients and, in cases of mismanagement, could cause significant and everlasting further morbidities such as bronchiectasis, which is commonly reported in CVID patients.

We found that the cumulative infections attributable to bacterial etiologies were more frequent in CVID compared to viral or fungal infections (41.7% vs. 25.4% and 3.4%, respectively). Similarly, other studies reported a higher incidence of bacterial infections among CVID patients.3,5,13 The higher prevalence of bacterial pathogens causing infections in these patients can be interpreted as a result of impairment in antibody production by plasma cells. In contrast, cellular immunity is the effective defense mechanism against viral and fungal infections (it is already shown in the inverse correlation between the T lymphocyte count and the viral infections), hence infections caused by viral and fungal pathogens have lower prevalence as cellular immunity is less affected in patients with CVID.

CVID patients with infection had a significantly lower age at diagnosis compared to CVID patients without infection. It could be because the presentation of infection is one of the main characteristic features of the disease that could lead to earlier diagnosis for CVID. Unlike patients presenting with other manifestations of the disease, such as autoimmunity, allergy, and cancers, which are diagnosed in later stages of life.

There was a lower percentage of CD3+ in CVID patients with infection compared to the group of CVID patients without infection. T cells, as well as B cells defect, are associated with more severe disease and higher infection rates in these patients.

Higher percentages of CD19+ lymphocytes in patients with a history of infections might indicate that the primary defect is likely related to impairments of terminal stages of B cell differentiation.85,86 Higher and/or normal numbers of CD19+ does not necessarily indicate a better immune response. The impaired antibody production despite normal B cell counts in a study conducted by Ahn and Cunningham-Rundles.85 Also suggests a defect in the differentiation of B cells into plasma and memory cells in many CVID patients. Several studies have pointed out the decreased level of class switch memory B cells (CD19+/CD27+/IgD-/IgM-), IgM memory B cells (CD19+/CD27+), and plasma cells in patients with CVID disease.87–89 Furthermore, Unger et al,90 reported that a subgroup of CVID patients manifests with the expansion of a special subset of B cells known as CD21low B cells, and it has been demonstrated that its expansion is linked with immune dysregulation in CVID patients.

A broad spectrum of T-cell abnormalities, including total numbers, percentages, surface markers, and function of various T-cell subpopulations have been reported in CVID patients. It has been shown a reduction of the total, naïve and memory CD4+ T cells, recent thymic emigrants, and an increase in activated CD4+ T cells. Some studies have demonstrated that CVID patients with a profound decrease in CD4+ T-cell counts are more susceptible to develop autoimmunity and lymphoproliferative diseases, indicating that there is a strong correlation between the frequency of naïve T cells and clinical manifestations.91,92 Similar to CD4+ T cells, a decline in the frequency of CD8+ T-cell subsets has been demonstrated. Naïve and effector memory CD8+T-cell numbers are reduced whereas higher percentages of activated CD8+ T cells have been reported.61,93,94

Disclosure

The authors declare no conflict of interest. This work was supported by the vice chancellor for research, Alborz University of Medical Sciences (1396-02-12-1500).

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Clinical Research Development Center of Imam Ali-Karaj Hospital.

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