Variable immunodeficiency syndrome and pneumonia: A case report

A thirty-seven-year-old patient with bilateral pneumonia complicated by pleural effusion was admitted to the University Hospital for Infectious Diseases in Zagreb. He already had pneumonia in 2004 and 2010. Since 2004 he has been treated several times for sinusitis. Despite a significant number of respiratory tract infections, serum protein electrophoresis has not been done until recent episode, when it became a crucial test for confirming the diagnosis of common variable immunodeficiency. Ultrasonography of pleural space, along with chest x-rays, proved a valuable diagnostic method in monitoring the progress and outcome of the disease.