Approximate 1 out of 20-25.000 inhabitants in Denmark have CVID or a common variable immunodeficiency. CVID (common variable immunodeficiency) is a immune defect that is characterized by the lack of antibodies and thereby a lowered ability to eradicate infections. CVID normally makes its’ first appearance in adulthood and it is often represented by repeated episodes of infection of the upper respiratory tract.

Most of the patients that end up at the ICID in the University Hospital of Aarhus have been consulting their own doctor multiple of times with returning pneumonia or sinusitis. Some have been admitted to other departments before they are diagnosed with CVID. If a patient suffers from CVID for a long time without treatment it heightens the risk of complications such as chronic damage to the lungs.

Apart from the chronic damage to the lungs and the risk of other serious complications, it can be a huge psychological burden to the patient to be ill without knowing the cause. Some CVID patients have trouble working and to them the diagnosis can be a big relief.

The aim of making a CVID cohort

Through this research project we want to register all patients with CVID in Denmark in a database with information about the age, gender, anamnesis, use of antibiotics etc. of the patients. The aim is to make a research foundation and obtain more knowledge about the disease. By collecting all information about Danish CVID patients we might be able to discover certain patterns in their course of disease that makes us able to identify and diagnose future CVID patients in an earlier stage of the disease.

Better knowledge = better treatment

We only have very little knowledge about CVID yet, and to help the patients in the best way possible we must first obtain a better understanding of the basal immunology of the disease and its’ influence on the immune system.

In the long term this knowledge will lead to more effective diagnostics and treatment of the disease. If it is possible to identify persons at greater risk of developing the disease, we can be more observant around them and give earlier treatment if they show signs of CVID.