[COVID-19 in adults with antibody deficiencies].

COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2, emerged in late 2019 in Wuhan, China. Its clinical course is variable, as well as the mortality rate, which is higher among people over 65 years of age and persons with underlying conditions. Immunodeficiencies are potential risk factors for severe forms of COVID-19.

[Recalcitrant cicatrizing conjunctivitis. Treatment of nine patients with rituximab].

Cicatrizing conjunctivitis is the final consequence of several diseases. The most severe among them are cicatricial pemphigoid and chronic Stevens-Johnson syndrome. Systemic immunosuppressive drugs and steroids are usually an effective approach to these diseases.

[Anaphylaxis and allergic reactions during surgery and medical procedures].

Anaphylaxis during anesthesia is an unpredictable, severe, and rare reaction. It has an incidence of 1/10 000 to 1/20 000 surgeries. In most series, the responsible drugs include neuromuscular blocking agents, latex, or antibiotics.

[Allergy to drugs. Experience in 771 procedures].

Drug hypersensitivity reactions (RHD) are those that present clinically as allergic. They can or cannot involve an immunologic mechanism of lesion. They are frequent and, occasionally, life threatening.

[Relapses in inflammatory myopathies].

Most studies about treatment of inflammatory myopathies consist of cross-sectional analyses that do not assess long-term efficacy. In the present study we describe the follow-up of seven patients with inflammatory myopathies, 5 polymyositis and 2 dermatomyositis. We describe their clinical features, follow-up, muscle enzyme levels, and treatment responses.

[Rituximab and hypogammaglobulinemia].

Rituximab, a chimeric monoclonal antibody against CD20, induces the depletion of B lymphocytes. It is used for the treatment of lymphoproliferative and autoimmune diseases. Antibody immunodeficiency associated to RTX treatment is a new motif for consultation to our service.

Epidemiology of angioedema without wheals in an allergy and immunology center.

We describe the diagnostic epidemiology, the clinical course, the family history and the response to treatment of patients with angioedema without wheals (AWW) at an Allergy and Immunology Clinical Center. We reviewed the case records of all patients at our office from January 1997 to April 2013. We recorded sex, age, age at onset of symptoms, family history of angioedema, number of visits to the office, type of angioedema, and response to treatment from those patients with angioedema without wheals.

[Adverse events in 1395 infusions with different intravenous gammaglobulin products].

The processes of isolation and sterilization of intravenous gamma globulin (IVIG) affect the end product characteristics and, therefore, its tolerability. Different products have different incidences of adverse reactions. The aim of this study was to quantify the immediate adverse events (AE) caused by the different IVIG preparations.

[Systemic treatment of ocular cicatricial pemphigoid].

Ocular cicatricial pemphigoid (OCP) is a blistering autoimmune disease that can produce severe conjunctival damage. Its response to immunosuppressive treatment is poorly known. We describe a group of 76 patients, 62 women and 14 men.

[Antibody deficiencies. A survey from three Clinical Immunology Centers for adults in Buenos Aires city].

Antibody deficiency (AD) comprises a group of diseases characterized by the inability to develop an effective antibody mediated immune response. These patients suffer mainly of encapsulated extracellular bacterial infections of the respiratory tract. The aim of our study was to describe the clinical characteristics of 128 patients with suspected or confirmed AD who were referred to 3 immunodeficiency centers for adults, from June 2004 to December 2009.

[Facial angioedema after filler injections. Description of five cases].

The use of fillers for cosmetic purposes is becoming increasingly frequent. Although initially considered inert, these products produce adverse reactions around the injection site. We present 5 cases of women with a history of filler injections who presented a hard and persistent angioedema followed by local subcutaneous nodules.