Immunodeficiency

What is the significance of Howell-Jolly bodies in the peripheral smear of my patient with a spleen who presents with pneumonia?

FA Manian MD, MPH, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Howell-Jolly bodies (HJBs, Figure) are often indicative of asplenia (either post-splenectomy or congenital absence) or hyposplenism associated with a variety of conditions, including  sickle cell disease, autoimmune disorders, celiac disease, inflammatory bowel disease (particularly ulcerative colitis), HIV, cirrhosis, primary pulmonary hypertension, splenic irradiation, amyloidosis, sarcoidosis, bone marrow transplantation, and high-dose corticosteroid therapy1-4.

Patients with pneumonia and HJBs on peripheral smear may be hyposplenic and at risk of potentially serious infections, predominantly caused by encapsulated bacteria eg, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae and Neisseria meningitidis3.  Such patients should be immunized against these organisms, including sequential receipt of both conjugated and polysaccharide pneumococcal vaccines3,5.

HJBs are nuclear remnants in circulating mature red blood cells which are usually pitted by the spleen under normal physiological conditions. 

Final Fun Pearl:  Did you know that  HJBs were named after Henry Howell, an American physiologist who pioneered the use of heparin as an anti-coagulant and Justin Jolly, a French hematologist who was among the first to film mitotic activity in cells?

howelljollymgh

Figure. Howell-Jolly body in an RBC. Photo courtesy of Michael S. Abers, MD

Contributed by Katarzyna Orlewska, Medical Student, Warszawski Uniwersytet Medyczny, Poland

 

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References

  1. Di Sabatino, A, Carsetti R, Corazza G. Post-splenectomy and hyposplenic states. Lancet 2011;378:86–97. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21474172
  2. Brousse, V, Buffet P, Rees D. The spleen and sickle cell disease: the sick(led) spleen. Br J Haematol 2014;166: 165–176. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24862308
  3. Mathew H, Dittus C, Malek A, Negroiu A. Howell-Jolly bodies on peripheral smear leading to the diagnosis of congenital hyposplenism in a patient with septic shock. Clin Case Rep 2015;3:714-717. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4551333
  4. Ryan FP, Smart RC, Holdsworth CD, et al. Hyposplenism in inflammatory bowel disease 1978;19:50-55. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/624506
  5. Kuchar E, Miśkiewicz K , Karlikowska M. A review of guidance on immunization in persons with defective or deficient splenic function. Br J Haematol 2015; 171:683-94.  http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bjh.13660/full

Disclosures: The listed questions and answers are solely the responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the official views of Mercy Hospital-St. Louis or its affiliate healthcare centers, Mass General Hospital, Harvard Medical School or its affiliated institutions. Although every effort has been made to provide accurate information, the author is far from being perfect. The reader is urged to verify the content of the material with other sources as deemed appropriate and exercise clinical judgment in the interpretation and application of the information provided herein. No responsibility for an adverse outcome or guarantees for a favorable clinical result is assumed by the author. Thank you!

What is the significance of Howell-Jolly bodies in the peripheral smear of my patient with a spleen who presents with pneumonia?

Should we treat asymptomatic candiduria?

FA Manian MD, MPH, Leave a comment

This is a common scenario among our hospitalized patients with indwelling catheters, prior antibiotic therapy or diabetes mellitus who seem to have no clinical signs of infection. Fortunately, candidemia from urinary sources appears uncommon to rare, with up to nearly ½ of patients clearing their candiduria with removal of the indwelling catheter alone (1). The Infectious Diseases Society of America guidelines do not recommended treatment of asymptomatic candiduria unless the patient belongs to a group at high risk of dissemination, such as severely immunosuppressed or neutropenic patients, infants with low birth weight, and patients who will undergo urologic manipulation (2).  Supporting such recommendation is a retrospective long-term follow-up of patients with candiduria demonstrating no significant improvement in rates of recurrences of candiduria or candidemia with treatment (3).  Fluconazole is usually considered the first-line agent of choice when treatment is indicated.  

1. Kauffman CA. Candiduria. Clin Infect Dis 2005;41:S371-6.

2. Pappas PG, Kauffman CA, Andes D, et al. Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Management of Candidiasis: 2009 Update by the Infectious Diseases Society of America. Clin Infect Dis 2009; 48:503–35.

3. Revankar SG, Hasan MS, Revankar VS, et al. Long-term follow-up of patients with candiduria. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 2011;30:137-140.

Should we treat asymptomatic candiduria?

My 65 year old patient has had several bouts of bacterial pneumonia in the past 2 years. Her total serum immunoglobulins are within normal range. Could she still be immunodeficient?

FA Manian MD, MPH, , , , , , , Leave a comment

Absolutely! Besides HIV infection which should be excluded in all patients with recurrent bouts of bacterial pneumonia irrespective of age, “selective polysaccharide antibody deficiency”, also known as “specific antibody deficiency” or SAD, should also be excluded (1-3). SAD in adults with recurrent pneumonia is not rare, having been reported in about ~8% of such patients (4).  

Think of SAD when your adult patient presents with recurrent bouts of bacterial pneumonia  despite having normal serum total immunoglobulin (IgG, IgA, and IgM) levels and IgG subtypes (1-3).  These patients have a normal response to tetanus toxoid (a protein) but cannot mount adequate antibody response against polysaccharide antigens of pathogens such as pneumococcus.  

One way to diagnose SAD in a suspected patient is through vaccination with 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23).  In patients with low baseline antibody titers to many of the capsular types of pneumococcus included in the PPSV23,  a suboptimal response (defined by the lab) 4 weeks after vaccination with PPSV23 is suggestive of SAD. Remember that if your patient has already been vaccinated with the 13 valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13), you can only evaluate for the response to serotypes included in the  PPSV23 only.

Although there are no randomized-controlled studies and treatment should be individualized, immunoglobulin replacement may reduce the risk of future bouts of pneumonia in SAD (2-3). 

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References

1. Cohn JA, Skorpinski E, Cohn JR. Prevention of pneumococcal infection in a patient with normal immunoglobulin levels but impaired polysaccharide antibody production. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 2006;97:603-5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17165266

2. Cheng YK, Kecker PA, O’Byrne MM, Weiler CR. Clinical and laboratory characteristics of 75 patients with specific polysaccharide antibody deficiency syndrome. Ann Alergy Asthma Immunol 2006;97:306-311. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17042135

3. Perez E, Bonilla FA, Orange JS, et al. Specific antibody deficiency: controversies in diagnosis and management. Front Immunol 207;8:586. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5439175/pdf/fimmu-08-00586.pdf

4. Ekdahl K, Braconier JH, Svanborg C. Immunoglobulin deficiencies and impaired immune response to polysaccharide antigens in adult patients with recurrent community acquired pneumonia. Scand J Infect Dis 1997;29:401-7. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9360257

 

My 65 year old patient has had several bouts of bacterial pneumonia in the past 2 years. Her total serum immunoglobulins are within normal range. Could she still be immunodeficient?