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Watch
Out for PI
Thousands
of doctors have received a letter about a frequently overlooked,
life-threatening disease that affects more children than leukemia
and lymphoma combined.
The mail campaign about primary
immunodeficiency (PI) is a joint effort of the U.S. National Institutes
of Health and the Jeffrey Modell Foundation.
Information about PI was sent to
every pediatrician who is a member of the American Academy of
Pediatrics and every family doctor affiliated with the American
Academy of Family Practice Physicians.
PI is an umbrella term for more
than 100 genetic defects. These range in severity from chronic
sinusitis to Severe Combined Immune Deficiency (SCIDS), which
is also known as Bubble Boy Disease.
PI can cause serious, recurrent
and life-threatening infections.
PI symptoms often present as common,
chronic childhood illnesses such as pneumonia, bronchitis, and
ear and sinus infections. Because of that, many doctors misdiagnose
PI.
The information mailed to doctors
includes PI warning signs. These include:
- Eight or more new ear infections
within a year.
- At least two serious sinus infections
within a year.
- At least two months on antibiotics
with little effect.
- At least two pneumonias within
a year.
- Failure of an infant to gain
weight or grow normally.
- Recurrent deep skin or organ
abscesses.
- Persistent thrush in mouth of
elsewhere on the skin after the age of one.
- The need for intravenous antibiotics
to clear infections.
- At least two deep-seated infections
such as sepsis, meningitis, cellulitis, or osteomyelitis.
- A family history of primary immunodeficiency.
More information
Here's where you can learn more
about primary
immunodeficiency.
Reference
Source 101
For more information on how to prevent other diseases, use
PreventDisease.com's "Quick
Prevention Resources".
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