Recurrent severe respiratory infections with low CRP secondary to autoimmune IL-6 deficiency

Alexander Hackney; Sunil James; Surendra Karanam

doi:10.1136/bcr-2021-243334

Recurrent severe respiratory infections with low CRP secondary to autoimmune IL-6 deficiency

BMJ Case Rep. 2021 Jun 21;14(6):e243334. doi: 10.1136/bcr-2021-243334.

Authors

Alexander Hackney¹, Sunil James², Surendra Karanam¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Immunology, Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust, Birmingham, UK.
² Department of Immunology, Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust, Birmingham, UK sunil.james1@nhs.net.

Abstract

C reactive protein (CRP) is an inflammatory protein that is often used in conjunction with the clinical presentation of a patient to help with quantifying infection severity and measuring treatment response. We report the case of a patient who presented with severe pneumonias but had a suboptimal CRP response, later diagnosed as having an underlying immunodeficiency. This case exemplifies the need to consider immunodeficiency as an underlying pathophysiological cause in patients presenting with complicated and severe infections.

Keywords: immunological products and vaccines; immunology; infections.

Publication types

Case Reports

MeSH terms

C-Reactive Protein
Humans
Immunologic Deficiency Syndromes*
Interleukin-6
Respiratory Tract Infections* / complications

Substances

Interleukin-6
C-Reactive Protein