Syndromic Inborn Errors of Immunity in TREC-Newborn Screening: 5-year Experience from the German Screening Program

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Lea Graafen - , University Hospital Duesseldorf (Author)
  • Carsten Speckmann - , University Medical Center Freiburg (Author)
  • Shahrzad Bakhtiar - , University Hospital Frankfurt (Author)
  • Horst V Bernuth - , Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Author)
  • Kai Lehmberg - , University Hospital Hamburg Eppendorf (Author)
  • Peter Bader - , University Hospital Frankfurt (Author)
  • Ulrich Baumann - , Hannover Medical School (MHH) (Author)
  • Rita Beier - , Hannover Medical School (MHH) (Author)
  • Stephan Borte - , St. Georg Hospital Leipzig (Author)
  • Inken Brockow - , Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority (LGL) (Author)
  • E Graham Davies - , Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust (Author)
  • Maximilian Hartmann - , University Hospital Hamburg Eppendorf (Author)
  • Ursula Holzer - , University Hospital Tübingen (Author)
  • Christian Klemann - , University Hospital Leipzig (Author)
  • Alexandra Y Kreins - , University College London (Author)
  • Renate Krüger - , Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Author)
  • Udo Kontny - , RWTH Aachen University (Author)
  • Hans-Jürgen Laws - , University Hospital Duesseldorf (Author)
  • Andrea Meinhardt - , University Hospital Gießen and Marburg (Author)
  • Henner Morbach - , University Hospital of Würzburg (Author)
  • Nora Naumann-Bartsch - , University Hospital at the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg (Author)
  • Tobias Rothoeft - , Catholic Hospital Bochum gGmbH (Author)
  • Dominik T Schneider - , Municipal Hospital Dortmund (Author)
  • Andre Willasch - , University Hospital Frankfurt (Author)
  • Austen Worth - , Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust (Author)
  • Markus G Seidel - , Medical University of Graz (Author)
  • Michael H Albert - , Dr. von Haunersche Children's Hospital (Author)
  • Stephan Ehl - , University Medical Center Freiburg (Author)
  • Fabian Hauck - , Dr. von Haunersche Children's Hospital (Author)
  • Manfred Hönig - , Ulm University Medical Center (Author)
  • Ansgar Schulz - , Ulm University Medical Center (Author)
  • Catharina Schuetz - , Department of Paediatrics, German Center for Child and Adolescent Health (DZKJ) - Partner Site Leipzig/Dresden (Author)
  • Sujal Ghosh - , University Hospital Duesseldorf (Author)

Abstract

TREC-NBS identifies patients with inborn errors of immunity (IEI) and syndromic features, but uncertainty remains regarding their immunological management. To address this, syndromic patients detected by TREC-NBS in Germany between August 2019 and April 2024 were systematically analyzed, including phenotype, treatment, and outcomes. National registries were screened, and data were completed by the treating centres. A total of 77 syndromic patients were identified, with 22 different gene defects found in 72 individuals (93.5%). Primary thymic deficiency was present in 64% (49/77), most commonly due to 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (62%). Common clinical features included congenital heart disease (57%), facial/skeletal abnormalities (53%), and neurological symptoms (36%). Definitive treatments were provided promptly in eligible patients, including 6 thymus transplants and 6 hematopoietic stem cell transplants (HSCT). A watch-and-wait approach was applied to the remaining patients, with 34% (22/65) receiving prophylactic treatment. Recovery of CD3 + T-cell counts was limited to a minority. Overall survival was 89%, with a median follow-up of 32 months (range 0.5-60). To conclude, this is the first comprehensive study of syndromic IEI patients identified through TREC-NBS. The findings show that the German healthcare system enables both early prophylactic care and timely access to definitive therapies. Moving forward, interdisciplinary collaboration will be key to developing evidence-based management guidelines for this challenging patient group.

Details

Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of clinical immunology
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 14 Mar 2026
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

ORCID /0009-0003-6519-0482/work/208795988

Keywords