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Immunodeficiency disorders - Symptom

Alternative Names

Immunosuppression

Symptoms:

The symptoms vary with the specific disorder.

Signs and tests:

Your doctor might think you have an immunodeficiency disorder is present if you have:

Persistent, recurrent infections; or
Severe infection by microorganisms that do not usually cause severe infection

Other signs include:

Poor response to treatment
Delayed or incomplete recovery from illness
Certain types of cancers (such as Kaposi's sarcoma or non-Hodgkin's lymphoma)
Certain infections (including some forms of pneumonia or recurrent fungal yeast infections)

Tests used to help diagnose an immunodeficiency disorder may include:

Antibody/immunoglobulin levels
Complement levels or other tests to measure substances released by the immune system
T (thymus derived) lymphocyte count
White blood cell count

Antibodies

Reviewed last on: 5/2/2008
David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; Stuart I. Henochowicz, MD, FACP, Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, Division of Allergy, Immunology, and Rheumatology, Georgetown University Medical School. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

References

Bonilla FA, Bernstein IL, Khan DA, et al. Practice parameter for the diagnosis and management of primary immunodeficiency. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2005;94:S1-S63.

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