Comparison of management options for specific antibody deficiency

Background:

Specific antibody deficiency is a primary immunodeficiency characterized by normal immunoglobulins with an inadequate response to polysaccharide antigen vaccination. This disease can result in recurrent infections, the most common being sinopulmonary infections. Treatment options include clinical observation, prophylactic antibiotic therapy, and immunoglobulin supplementation therapy, each with limited clinical data about their efficacy.

Objective:

This study aimed to identify whether there was a statistically significant difference in the rate of infections for patients who were managed with clinical observation, prophylactic antibiotics, or immunoglobulin supplementation therapy.

Methods:

A retrospective chart review was conducted. Patients were eligible for the study if they had normal immunoglobulin levels, an inadequate antibody response to polysaccharide antigen‐based vaccination, and no other known causes of immunodeficiency.

Results:

A total of 26 patients with specific antibody deficiency were identified. Eleven patients were managed with immunoglobulin supplementation, ten with clinical observation, and five with prophylactic antibiotic therapy. The frequency of antibiotic prescriptions was assessed for the first year after intervention. A statistically significant rate of decreased antibiotic prescriptions after intervention was found for patients treated with immunoglobulin supplementation (n = 11; p = 0.0004) and for patients on prophylactic antibiotics (n = 5; p = 0.01). There was no statistical difference in antibiotic prescriptions for those patients treated with immunoglobulin supplementation versus prophylactic antibiotics (p = 0.21).

Conclusion:

Prophylactic antibiotics seemed to be equally effective as immunoglobin supplementation therapy for the treatment of specific antibody deficiency. Further studies are needed in this area.