Chronic Diarrhea with Villous Blunting of the Small Intestine Under Capsule Endoscopy in Common Variable Immunodeficiency and X-Linked Agammaglobulinemia: A Case Series

INTRODUCTION: Primary immunodeficiencies (PIDs) are a heterogeneous group of disorders, common variable immunodeficiency disorder (CVID) and X-linked agammaglobulinemia (XLA) are PIDs related to B-cell defect, characterized by reduced levels of immunoglobulins and immune dysregulation.

Infections are the most common clinical manifestations, while underlying autoimmune and inflammatory conditions are present in some patients with CVID and XLA, leading to clinical misdiagnosis and diagnostic delay.

Chronic diarrhea in patients with CVID and XLA, particularly complicated malabsorption and protein-energy malnutrition, is responsible for poor prognostic outcomes.

METHODS: In this study, we described three PID adult patients (two with CVID and one with XLA) who presented with varying degrees of chronic diarrhea, weight loss, and protein-energy malnutrition.

We suggest that villous blunting of the small intestine under capsule endoscopy may be an endoscopic feature of PID-related enteropathy, thus highlighting the application of capsule endoscopy in patients with CVID and XLA presenting with chronic diarrhea.

CONCLUSION: We also summarize regular Ig supplementation is the basic treatment for CVID and XLA patients, proper enteral nutrition and probiotic therapy can be explored to use to alter gut microbiota and modulate intestinal immune response.

However, vedolizumab is not helpful to PID-related enteropathy therapy, as it exacerbates the inflammatory response in extra-intestinal organs and ultimately causes poor clinical outcomes.