Immunodeficiency of IgG immunoglobulins subclass 3: case report

Abstract

Immunodeficiencies, primary or congenital, are a group of pathologies with very diverse etiopathogenesis, in which there is a quantitative and/or qualitative deficit in the immune system. This study aims to carry out a case report of IgG subclass 3 immunodeficiency. During childhood, the patient had severe respiratory allergies and was frequently hospitalized for pneumonia. In the adolescence, she manifested infections that evolved quickly to more severe conditions, mainly in the respiratory tract and urinary system. In adulthood, she developed bacterial pneumonia after flu symptoms. The suspicions that recurrent infections could be indications of another pathology started when the patient noticed that, in addition to her infections developing in a severe way, she had no apparent immune response to them. She reported having impaired her social and personal life until diagnosis and proper treatment. The initial treatment consisted of corticosteroid therapy in associoation to continuos use of sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim, with no resolution, added to vaccines administration, which had little seroconversion. Due to the inefficiency, the treatment with immunoglobulin infusion was started, which showed positive results in the patient and continues until the present. This case report highlights the social impact caused by the clinical complications prior to the diagnosis, the significant improvement in the quality of life after the adequate treatment, as well as the difficulty in diagnosing the disease and the lack of qualified professionals for this.