SYSTEMIC ANTIBODY DEFICIENCY IN PATIENTS WITHOUT SERUM IMMUNOGLOBULIN DEFICIENCY OR WITH SELECTIVE IGA DEFICIENCY

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  • 1 January 1984
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 56  (1) , 18-22
Abstract
Serum IgG tetanus toxoid antibody (IgG TTab) concentrations were measured in patients with chronic chest infections or recurrent acute chest infections following immunization and compared with results obtained in a group of 43 controls. Apart from selective IgA deficiency in some patients, all had normal or high serum Ig. Using an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for IgG TTab, antibody was present following 1 immunization in all controls who had previously been immunized and following 2 immunizations in those not previously immunized. Of controls, 97.5% had a serum antibody concentration of > 4 .mu.g/ml. Following the same immunization schedule, 8 of 45 (18%) patients with chronic chest infections and 3 of 11 (27%) patients with recurrent acute infections had a serum IgG TTab of < 4 .mu.g/ml. The 3 patients with a low IgG TTab concentration and recurrent acute infections all had selective IgA deficiency. Two of these patients have benefited from injections of normal human IgG. Systemic antibody deficiency as a cause of chronic or recurrent respiratory tract infections cannot be excluded by measuring serum Ig concentrations alone and is of value to measure antibody responses following immunization.