title: Common variable immunodeficiency: computed tomography evaluation of bronchopulmonary changes including nodular lesions in 40 patients. Correlation with clinical and immunological data.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) is the most common symptomatic primary immunodeficiency characterized by recurrent respiratory tract infections, mainly sustained by encapsulated bacteria, that may cause irreversible changes in the lungs.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty patients with CVID were evaluated by computed tomography of the lung; 20 of these underwent computed tomographic follow-up in a 5-year period, during which immunoglobulin replacement therapy was regularly performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Pulmonary changes were present in 65% of patients; bronchiectases were present in 65.38%. The incidence of pulmonary nodules was very high (38.46%) and correlated with splenomegaly (70%) and autoimmune phenomena (80%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study underscores the essential role of imaging, in particular computed tomography, in the identification and monitoring of pulmonary lesions in a large cohort of CVID patients, contributing at the same time to select patients more at risk to develop nodular lesions and potentially to use more appropriate therapeutic strategies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy. bondioni.pia@tin.it
authors.forename: Maria Pia
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Bondioni
authors.forename: Annarosa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Soresina
authors.forename: Vassilios
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Lougaris
authors.forename: Diego
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gatta
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Plebani
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Maroldi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001987:Bronchiectasis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology; D001995:Bronchography; D002648:Child; D017074:Common Variable Immunodeficiency / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D055613:Multiple Pulmonary Nodules / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed