Patient-centred screening for primary immunodeficiency: a multi-stage diagnostic protocol designed for...

Area of Science:

• Immunology
• Clinical Medicine
• Diagnostic Protocols

Background:

• Early identification of primary immunodeficiency disease (PID) is critical for patient prognosis but often difficult for non-specialists.
• Primary immunodeficiency diseases can manifest at any age, requiring awareness among both pediatricians and adult physicians.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a multi-stage diagnostic protocol to increase PID awareness among diverse medical professionals.
• To provide a cost-effective screening method for early PID detection in various healthcare settings.

Main Methods:

• Development of a clinical presentation-based, multi-stage diagnostic protocol by the European Society for Immunodeficiencies (ESID) Clinical Working Party.
• The protocol requires no specialized immunological skills for initial use, focusing on clinical assessment.

Main Results:

• The protocol enables cost-effective initial screening for PID, reserving advanced, expensive tests for later stages in collaboration with immunologists.
• The multi-stage design facilitates broad application across different hospital levels and age groups.

Conclusions:

• This expert-opinion-based protocol offers a practical approach to enhance early PID detection by non-immunologists.
• Adaptation of the generic European protocol may be necessary to accommodate national healthcare variations.