Clinical Description
Chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) is characterized by severe recurrent bacterial and fungal infections and dysregulated inflammatory responses resulting in granuloma formation and other inflammatory disorders such as colitis.
Age at diagnosis. While CGD may present anytime from infancy to late adulthood, the vast majority of affected individuals are diagnosed before age five years. The median age of diagnosis was 2.5 to three years in several series [Jones et al 2008, Martire et al 2008]. More recently, increased numbers of affected individuals have been diagnosed in adolescence or adulthood [Wolach et al 2017, Gao et al 2019, El-Mokhtar et al 2021, Noh et al 2021, Rawat et al 2021]. This delay in diagnosis may be attributed to the following:
Effective treatment of CGD-related infections with antimicrobials not available in the past
Recognition of milder cases of autosomal recessive CGD that may have gone undiagnosed without currently available tests and/or awareness of milder disease manifestations
Overall improvement in food handling and sanitation
Presentation. Infections and granulomatous lesions are usually the first manifestations of CGD, with the most frequent sites being the lung, lymph nodes, liver, bone, and skin. The types of infection seen most often include pneumonia, lymphadenitis, abscess, osteomyelitis, and cellulitis. Other pulmonary complications include empyema and hilar adenopathy. The most common sites for abscesses are the perianal and perirectal areas as well as the liver.
Although the frequency of infections in persons with CGD has decreased with the routine administration of antibacterial and antifungal prophylaxis, infections still occur at a frequency of 0.3/year.
In North America, the majority of infections in CGD are caused by Staphylococcus aureus, Burkholderia cepacia complex, Serratia marcescens, Nocardia species, and Aspergillus species [Marciano et al 2015] (Table 2). In other parts of the world, important causes of infection are Salmonella, bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG), and tuberculosis [Winkelstein et al 2000, van den Berg et al 2009].
Table 2.
Infections in CGD: Common Pathogens and Sites of Involvement
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Pathogen | Presentation |
---|
Bacterial infections
|
Staphylococcus aureus
| Soft-tissue infection; lymphadenitis; liver abscess; osteomyelitis; pneumonia; sepsis |
Burkholderia species: 1
B cepacia 2 B gladioli B pseudomallei
| Pneumonia; sepsis |
Serratia marcescens 3 | More common:
Osteomyelitis Soft-tissue infection
Less common:
|
Nocardia species: 4, 5
N asteroides N nova N otitidiscaviarum N farcinica
| Pneumonia; osteomyelitis; brain abscess |
Granulibacter bethesdensis 6 | Necrotizing lymphadenitis; sepsis; meningitis |
Chromobacterium violaceum 7 | Sepsis |
Francisella philomiragia 8 | Sepsis |
Fungal infections 9
| Aspergillus species:
A fumigatus A nidulans A viridinutans A flavus A terreus A niger
| Pneumonia; osteomyelitis; brain abscess; lymphadenitis |
Paecilomyces species:
| Pneumonia; soft-tissue infection; osteomyelitis |
Other molds:
Geosmitha argillacea 10 Cephalosporum species Chaetomium strumarium Phialophora richardsiae Scedosporium apiospermum Exophiala species Cladosporium species Zygomycete species Acremonium species Neosartorya udagawae Phellinus species 11
| Pneumonia; soft-tissue infection |
Yeast
infections
| Candida
C albicans C glabrata C lusitaniae
| Sepsis; soft-tissue infection; liver abscess |
Trichosporon
Arthrographis kalrae | Pneumonia; soft-tissue infection |
- 1.
- 2.
- 3.
- 4.
- 5.
Outside of CGD, Nocardia infections occur predominantly in the setting of high-dose corticosteroids.
- 6.
- 7.
- 8.
- 9.
- 10.
- 11.
Bacterial Infections
Widespread prophylaxis has limited staphylococcal infections primarily to the skin, lymph nodes, liver, and (rarely) lung [Marciano et al 2015].
Burkholderia cepacia complex infection is common in individuals with CGD and can occasionally cause sepsis.
Outside of CGD, Nocardia infections occur predominantly in the setting of high-dose corticosteroids.
Mycobacterial diseases in CGD are mostly limited to regional and disseminated BCG infections and tuberculosis. Persons with CGD are less susceptible to nontuberculous infections than persons with defects in T-cell or interferon gamma/IL-12 pathways: in persons with CGD, BCG infection may cause severe localized disease such as draining skin lesions at sites of BCG vaccination [Lee et al 2008], whereas in persons with severe combined immunodeficiency or defects in the IFN-gamma receptor pathway, BCG infection typically causes disseminated disease.
Uncommon bacterial infections that are virtually pathognomonic for CGD include the following:
Granulibacter bethesdensis, which causes necrotizing lymphadenitis, sepsis, and meningitis [
Greenberg et al 2006]
Chromobacterium violaceum, which is found in brackish waters such as the Gulf of Mexico and causes sepsis [
Sirinavin et al 2005]
Francisella philomiragia, which is also found in brackish waters such as the Chesapeake Bay and is a cause of sepsis [
Mailman & Schmidt 2005]
Bacteremia is relatively uncommon except with certain gram-negative organisms.
Fungal Infections
Invasive fungal infections, which have the highest prevalence in CGD among all primary immunodeficiencies, remain the leading cause of mortality in CGD. They occur most commonly in the first two decades of life and can be the first presentation of disease [Marciano et al 2015]; about 30% of individuals with CGD will develop fungal infections [Beauté et al 2011, Marciano et al 2015].
Fungal infections are typically acquired through inhalation of spores or hyphae resulting in pneumonia that can spread locally to the ribs and spine or metastatically to the brain. Presentation may be insidious or manifest as failure to thrive and malaise. Other common presenting signs and symptoms include cough, fever, and chest pain.
Aspergillus species are the most common cause of invasive fungal infections, typically in the lung.
Paecilomyces lilacinus and Paecilomyces variotti cause pneumonia and osteomyelitis in CGD almost exclusively.
Mucormycosis has been reported in CGD but appears to occur only in the setting of significant immunosuppression [Vinh et al 2009].
The overall frequency and mortality of invasive fungal infections have been significantly reduced with the use of itraconazole as antifungal prophylaxis and the use of other azoles (voriconazole and posaconazole) as therapy. However, when they occur, fungal infections develop at an older age and may require longer duration of therapy. Fungal infections cause more mortality than other infections in CGD [Marciano et al 2015]. An increased frequency of infection with Aspergillus nidulans and other opportunistic fungi may be associated with itraconazole prophylaxis [Blumental et al 2011].
Yeast infections are not nearly as common as bacterial and fungal infections in persons with CGD; mucocutaneous candidiasis is not encountered.
Note: The endemic dimorphic mold infections histoplasmosis, blastomycosis, and coccidioidomycosis do not occur in CGD [Holland 2010]. A single case of sporotrichosis in CGD has been reported [Trotter et al 2014].
Inflammatory and Other Manifestations
Formation of granulomata and dysregulated inflammation in CGD contribute to morbidity and can cause multiple symptoms. The genitourinary and gastrointestinal tracts are most commonly affected.
Genitourinary manifestations include bladder granulomata associated with ureteral obstruction and urinary tract infections. Other manifestations include pseudotumors of the bladder and eosinophilic cystitis.
Gastrointestinal manifestations
Liver involvement is a significant cause of morbidity in CGD, with abscesses occurring in up to 35% of affected individuals. Liver abscesses have been difficult to cure without surgery and carry a significant risk for recurrence, but not relapse [Hussain et al 2007].
Other common liver abnormalities include liver enzyme elevation, persistent elevations in alkaline phosphatase, and drug-induced hepatitis.
High rates of portal venopathy are associated with splenomegaly and nodular regenerative hyperplasia. Portal hypertension and thrombocytopenia are associated with intrahepatic disease and important risk factors for mortality [Hussain et al 2007, Feld et al 2008].
Hyperinflammation is seen, especially in response to infectious agents. The exact etiology of dysregulated inflammation in CGD is unclear. Heightened inflammatory response has been described in chronic colitis [Marciano et al 2004], granulomatous cystitis [Kontras et al 1971], pulmonary infections with Nocardia [Freeman et al 2011], and staphylococcal liver abscesses [Yamazaki-Nakashimada et al 2006, Leiding et al 2012].
Fungi elicit an exuberant inflammatory response regardless of whether the fungi are alive or dead [Morgenstern et al 1997] as in "mulch pneumonitis," a syndrome caused by inhalation of aerosolized decayed organic matter (e.g., hay, dead leaves) [Siddiqui et al 2007]. Acute fulminant pneumonitis (similar to that seen in hypersensitivity pneumonitis) ensues.
Prolonged and dysregulated inflammation in CGD can overlap clinically with the syndrome of hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH). HLH is caused by an ineffective and unrestrained inflammatory response by T lymphocytes, NK cells, and macrophages leading to fever, hepatosplenomegaly, cytopenias, and hemophagocytosis in the bone marrow and other tissues. Persons with CGD can develop prolonged fever and most of the clinical features of HLH.
Growth restriction is common in CGD and slow growth can be a common presenting finding [Marciano et al 2004] that can be compounded by colitis. Growth may improve in late adolescence and many affected individuals may attain appropriate adult height and weight, albeit on the lower end of the spectrum.
Chronic respiratory disease can result from recurrent infection. Bronchiectasis, obliterative bronchiolitis, and chronic fibrosis may occur but are not as common as in some other primary immunodeficiencies.
Ophthalmic manifestations include chorioretinal lesions and granulomata with pigment clumping that are usually asymptomatic but often associated with recovery of bacterial DNA from retinal tissue samples [Wang et al 2013]. Inflammatory eye disease including keratitis and uveitis can occur as well.
Oral manifestations include gingivitis, stomatitis, aphthous ulceration, and gingival hypertrophy.
Noninfectious skin manifestations include photosensitivity, granulomatous lesions, vasculitis, and excessive inflammation at drainage and surgical wounds, leading to dehiscence.
Autoimmune disorders are common. Autoimmune diseases reported in individuals with CGD include idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, autoimmune pulmonary disease, myasthenia gravis, IgA nephropathy, antiphospholipid syndrome, and recurrent pericardial effusion [Winkelstein et al 2000, De Ravin et al 2008].
Malignancies have been reported in CGD, and may be more common in autosomal recessive CGD than in X-linked CGD, raising the possibility that the increased incidence of malignancy may be due to other cosegregating autosomal recessive traits [Aguilera et al 2009, Geramizadeh et al 2010, Lugo Reyes et al 2011].
The histopathologic patterns of malignancy have significant overlap with certain chronic inflammatory conditions. However, the largest series of affected individuals to date reported no malignancies [Winkelstein et al 2000, van den Berg et al 2009]. Smaller, more recent studies corroborate a low overall incidence of malignancy [Köker et al 2013, Raptaki et al 2013, Baba et al 2014, Al-Zadjali et al 2015].
Survival in CGD
Survival in CGD has improved greatly, and is now approximately 90% at age ten years [Jones et al 2008, Martire et al 2008, Kuhns et al 2010, Marciano et al 2015, Wolach et al 2017, Gao et al 2019, El-Mokhtar et al 2021, Noh et al 2021, Rawat et al 2021]. Overall rates of survival are lower among those with X-linked CGD than those with autosomal recessive CGD.
Factors influencing survival
Note: Inflammatory bowel disease does not influence mortality: overall survival rates of persons with CGD with and without colitis are similar [Marciano et al 2004, Kuhns et al 2010, Marciano et al 2015].
X-Linked CGD: Heterozygous Females
Females who are heterozygous for a CYBB pathogenic variant are typically not affected with CGD, as the amount of gp91phox protein produced by their second (normal) CYBB allele allows adequate superoxide production and protection from CGD-related infections.
Neutrophils from heterozygous females express two populations that dihydrorhodamine (DHR) testing can detect: an abnormal DHR(-) population expressing the pathogenic variant and a brightly staining DHR (+) population expressing the normal allele. Skewed (non-random) X-chromosome inactivation can result in low %DHR+ neutrophil population because the CYBB disease-causing allele is primarily expressed.
When %DHR+ falls below 20%, heterozygous females are at risk for CGD-specific infections. The %DHR+ population can predict susceptibility to infections with CGD-specific pathogens but does not predict autoimmune symptoms of heterozygous females [Marciano et al 2018]. Heterozygous females are at substantial risk for inflammatory conditions.
Careful longitudinal evaluation of heterozygous females is recommended in order to detect inflammatory or infectious conditions if they occur over time.
Clinical evidence of CGD in heterozygous females: