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The following is a summary of “Lung function trajectories in Common Variable Immunodeficiencies: an observational retrospective multicenter study,” published in the November 2024 issue of Allergy and Immunology by Buso et al. 

Respiratory disease impacts morbidity and mortality in CVID. Lung function trajectories remain unclear. 

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to assess lung function in CVID and its trajectory and explored its association with clinical and immunological parameters. 

They conducted a retrospective study across 5 Italian centers, including patients with CVID who had longitudinal Pulmonary Function Tests (PFTs) and chest CT scans. PFTs were expressed as percentiles, with the 5th percentile as the lower limit of normal (LLN), and they investigated the association with clinical and immunological parameters. 

The results showed that 185 patients with CVID were included, with 64% having at least 1 lung comorbidity (41% bronchiectasis, 24% granulomatous interstitial lung diseases). At baseline, the median FEV₁ was 3.07 L [IQR 2.40 – 3.80], placing at the 32nd pct [6th-61st], and the median FVC was 3.70 L [3.00 – 4.54], placing at the 29th pct [7th-49th]. Patients of about 23% had FEV₁ < LLN and 21% had FVC < LLN. Switched-memory B cells <2% were linked to FEV₁ < LLN (OR 7.58) and FVC < LLN (OR 3.55). In 112 patients with ≥5 years of PFT follow-up, no significant difference was found between measured and predicted annual declines in FEV₁ (25.6 vs 20.7 mL/year) and FVC (15.6 vs 16.2 mL/year). 

They observed that lung volumes in most patients with CVID fell within the lower third of the normal range, and the rate of lung decline did not accelerate after diagnosis. 

Source: jacionline.org/article/S0091-6749(24)01230-2/fulltext