Question

A 2-year-old girl has had repeated ear and upper respiratory infections since she was born. A pediatrician has determined a diagnosis of transient hypogammaglobulinemia of infancy. What is the physiologic origin of the child’s recurrent infections?

Answer 1

Transient hypogammaglobulinemia of infancy is characterized by inadequate communication between B and T cells. IgG would be inherited through placental blood, and an intrauterine infection is neither causative or nor synonymous with transient hypogammaglobulinemia of infancy. The diagnosis does not include a lack of antigen-presenting cells.