Abstract
Abstract A six-year-old girl first presented with severe eczema at the age of 6 months, which was difficult to control with topical treatments. She was found to have severely elevated total IgE and multiple food allergies. Due to recurrent ear and chest infections, and persistent varicella zoster, she was screened for a primary immunodeficiency and found to have a homozygous exon 29-46 deletion in the DOCK8 gene. Her eczema remained challenging, with coalescing warts on her limbs. She started Methotrexate with an initial good response; however, the frequency of infections and hospitalizations increased. After the diagnosis of DOCK8 deficiency was confirmed, she started Dupilumab, resulting in the complete resolution of her eczema and warts. She is awaiting haematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) . DOCK8 deficiency is an autosomal recessive hyper-IgE syndrome that presents early in life with severe eczema, skin abscesses, multiple food allergies, recurrent respiratory tract infections, and severe viral (including skin) infections. Older patients invariably develop bronchiectasis and are at high risk of malignancy. Patients have a combined immunodeficiency, with T-cell lymphopenia, reduced thymic output and T-cell skewing to a Th2 response. Children with this condition often present to dermatologists because of severe eczema, which is usually difficult to treat with standard topical treatments. The decision to treat with systemic immunosuppression is often challenging due to recurrent infections. Although HSCT is the curative treatment for DOCK8 deficiency, Dupilumab can be used to reduce inflammation and infections, and improve quality of life in patients awaiting HSCT.
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