Concise guidelines: Primary antibody deficiencies

Recognition, clinical diagnosis and referral of patients

These guidelines were originally published in Clinical Medicine, volume 9 issue 6.

The primary antibody deficiency syndromes are a rare group of immunodeficiencies that cause a wide range of complications and increase the risk of life-threatening infections.

Early referral for specialist assessment leading to diagnosis and therapy is important to limit structural organ and tissue damage, but limited awareness of the condition and the heterogeneity of their presenting features are barriers to this.

The main objective of this guideline is to inform clinicians about the varied and frequently complex presentations of primary antibody deficiency syndromes and to emphasise the importance of early recognition and referral.