Immunodeficiency in children with special reference to skin symptoms.

Immunodeficiency disorders are rare. The prevalence among Swedish children has been estimated to be 25 symptomatic cases per million during a 5-year period. A review of different immunodeficiency syndromes is presented, with special emphasis on those with skin symptoms. The specific treatment with immunological reconstitution by transplantation of bone marrow or cultured thymus fragments or fetal organs and immunoglobulin substitution, and the general care of the patients with, for example, antibiotics and physiotherapy are discussed. The need for an increased awareness of the existence of this patient group and its special problems is stressed, as the diagnosis is often delayed, allowing unnecessary secondary damage to develop.