OBJECTIVE: To report a case of chronic granulomatous disease diagnosed during the first infectious episode in order to collaborate with the Brazilian Group for Immunodeficiency, in sensitizing the general pediatrician that the early diagnosis of primary immunodeficiency results in better quality of life and longer life expectancy for the patients. CASE DESCRIPTION: Male patient, 39 days, admitted to the pediatric emergency ward with fever for the last five days and irritability. On the following day, a cervical abscess was noted and a community Staphylococcus aureus was isolated. During hospital stay, other abscesses were observed in the skin and in the deep ganglia chains, with a slow response to antibiotics. Investigation of immunodeficiency was requested and chronic granulomatous disease was confirmed by quantification of superoxide anions and nitrobluetetrazolium tests. The patient was transferred to a specialized clinic for bone marrow transplantation, performed six months after diagnosis. Four months afterwards, the normalization of oxidative burst was noted, indecating the success of the transplantation. COMMENTS: The patient showed a typical presentation of the disease, which allowed its diagnosis by general pediatricians on the first infection, allowing the follow-up by experts in primary immunodeficiencies, the introduction of antimicrobial chemoprophylaxis, and the successful search for an HLA-compatible bone marrow donor.
granulomatous disease, chronic; immunologic deficiency syndromes; abscess
