Selective IgA Deficiency a Probable Risk of Recurrent Chest Infections in Asthmatics

Fawzia Hassan Abo Ali,1 Nehal Elfawy Mahmoud,1 Amr Yakout Mohamed El-Sayed,1 Mariam Fathy Abdelmaksoud,2 Alaa K Shata,3 Shaimaa Hani Fouad1 1Department of Internal Medicine/Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Ain-Shams University, Cairo, Egypt; 2Department of Clinical Pathology, Ain-Shams University, Cairo, Egypt; 3Department of Pulmonology, Ain Shams University, Cairo, EgyptCorrespondence: Shaimaa Hani FouadDepartment of Internal Medicine/ Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Ain Shams University, Abbasia, Cairo, 11566, EgyptTel/Fax +202 24346888; Tel +2 01116110004Email shaimaahani@med.asu.edu.egBackground: Selective immunoglobulin A (IgA) deficiency is characterized by a high incidence of both recurrent infections and atopic diseases. Asthma is one of the most common lung diseases affecting around 300 million people worldwide and is associated with risk of serious pneumococcal disease and microbial infections. Multiple studies have attributed this to impaired innate and adaptive immunity in asthmatics. An additional probable hypothesis is the existence of an underlying primary immunodeficiency (PID), such as selective IgA deficiency (sIgAD).Aim: To assess the prevalence of selective IgA deficiency and its correlation to recurrent infections in asthmatic patients.Methods: A case–control study was conducted on 80 subjects who were divided into 3 groups: 20 Asthmatic patients with recurrent chest infections (Group A), 20 asthmatic patients without recurrent chest infections (Group B) and 40 healthy controls (Group C).Results: On comparing the 3 studied groups, there was a statistically significant difference between the three groups (p = ˂0.001) concerning serum IgA. The mean serum IgA was statistically significantly lower in Group A&B than in Group C. Furthermore, it was significantly lower in Group A than in Group B and C (p1,2 < 0.002 and < 0.001&ast;, respectively). The percentage of selective IgA deficiency or partial IgA deficiency in asthmatic patients was 56% (26 patients). Group A showed a statistically significant higher percentage of selective/partial IgA deficiency.Keywords: sIgA, sIgE, sIgM, sIgG, asthma, recurrent infections, immune deficienc