title: Specific Antibody Deficiencies.
abstract: Patients with specific antibody deficiency (SAD) have a deficient immunologic response to polysaccharide antigens. Such patients experience sinopulmonary infections with increased frequency, duration, or severity compared with the general population. SAD is definitively diagnosed by immunologic challenge with a pure polysaccharide vaccine in patients 2 years old and older who have otherwise intact immunity, using the 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine as the current gold standard. Specific antibody deficiencies comprise multiple immunologic phenotypes. Treatment must be tailored based on the severity of symptoms. Most patients have a good prognosis. The deficiency may resolve over time, especially in children.
authors.affiliation: Section of Allergy Immunology, Department of Pediatrics, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, Jeffrey Modell Center for Primary Immunodeficiencies, 200 Henry Clay Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70118, USA. Electronic address: lwall@lsuhsc.edu.
authors.forename: Luke A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Wall
authors.affiliation: Section of Allergy Immunology, Department of Pediatrics, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, Jeffrey Modell Center for Primary Immunodeficiencies, 200 Henry Clay Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70118, USA.
authors.forename: Victoria R
authors.initials: VR
authors.lastname: Dimitriades
authors.affiliation: Section of Allergy Immunology, Department of Pediatrics, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, Jeffrey Modell Center for Primary Immunodeficiencies, 200 Henry Clay Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70118, USA.
authors.forename: Ricardo U
authors.initials: RU
authors.lastname: Sorensen
mesh_terms: D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D019468:Disease Management; D004406:Dysgammaglobulinemia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D011379:Prognosis
keywords: Immunoglobulin replacement; Pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine; Recurrent sinopulmonary infections; Specific antibody deficiency; Vaccine failure