African Society for Immunodeficiency (Asid) Guidelines for Diagnosis and Management of Inborn Errors of Immunity in Africa: Core Concept, Development and Initial Results

Abstract Background and aims The African Society for Immunodeficiency (ASID), looked to form concise region-friendly guidelines for the clinical diagnosis and management of Inborn Errors of Immunity (IEI). The main objective was to develop these guidelines to accommodate for the locally prevalent endemic diseases and the disparity of resources within the continent. Furthermore, the society aimed to publish these guidelines to increase awareness among African physicians, and facilitate patient capture, diagnosis and initial management. Methods The African Society for Immunodeficiency convened an African IEI guidelines taskforce, which developed an initial standard operating procedure. This document entailed the main list of IEI in need of urgent guidelines formulation, validation and review processes. The first group of diseases chosen to start the formulation of the guidelines were diseases of immune dysregulation. Simultaneously, this was associated with assigning a local African IEI guidelines working party, consisting of mainly locally established experts and young doctors. Results Two pilot studies were produced for the project targeting the clinical diagnosis and management of autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome and Immune Dysregulation with Colitis, respectively. These guidelines will ensure better patient capture, diagnosis, and management especially given local endemic diseases and lack of resources. Moreover, it shall increase local inter-centre or regional collaboration with pioneers and experts within the field inside as well as outside the African continent.