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Case Reports
. 2020 Dec;202(3):379-383.
doi: 10.1111/cei.13490. Epub 2020 Jul 24.

Primary pneumococcal peritonitis can be the first presentation of a familial complement factor I deficiency1

S Ugrinovic  1 , H Firth  2 , D Kavanagh  3   4 , T Gouliouris  5   6 , P Gurugama  1 , H Baxendale  1 , P J Lachmann  7 , D Kumararatne  1 , E Gkrania-Klotsas  5
Affiliations
Case Reports

Primary pneumococcal peritonitis can be the first presentation of a familial complement factor I deficiency1

S Ugrinovic et al. Clin Exp Immunol. 2020 Dec.

Abstract

Primary pneumococcal peritonitis is a rare infection that has been described in women but has not been previously linked with immunodeficiency. The complement system plays a central role in immune defence against Streptococcus pneumoniae and, in order to evade complement attack, pneumococci have evolved a large number of mechanisms that limit complement-mediated opsonization and subsequent phagocytosis. We investigated an apparently immunocompetent woman with primary pneumococcal peritonitis and identified a family with deficiency for complement factor I. Primary pneumococcal peritonitis should be considered a possible primary immunodeficiency presentation.

Keywords: complement; immunodeficiency.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare they have no financial or commercial conflicts of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Family pedigree. The index case is indicated by an arrow. WT = wild‐type.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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References

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