Figure 1.

A combined analysis of data on the percentage of patients experiencing pneumonia and recurrent respiratory tract infections is shown in three large series of common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) patients in 1999, 2008 and 2011 [two from the same cohort in the United States 12 years apart (248 and 252 patients) and one from a French cohort (473 patients)]. Accepting the potential difficulties in the interpretation of combined data from several sources, there is a decline in the percentage of patients' pneumonia over time, perhaps representing a change in immunoglobulin (Ig) dosing or greater use of prophylactic antibiotics. In contrast the percentage of patients with recurrent respiratory tract infections has remained high at more than 90% in all of the studies. This term will include infections of the sinuses, throat, upper and lower respiratory tract which do not fulfil criteria for pneumonia.