Inborn errors of immunity (IEI), including primary immunodeficiency disorders constitute a high disease burden in India and the cases that are detected, make up only the tip of the ice-berg. Awareness about these diseases is vital, especially among physicians from General Medicine, Paediatricians and ENT surgeons.
An orientation CME on IEI was organised by the Department of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology, Kalinga Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS), with an aim to involve the practitioners across specialties. The occasion was graced by Prof. Ambika Prasad Mohanty, Principal, KIMS Bhubaneswar and Prof. Deepika Mohanty, former Director, National Institute of Immuno Haematology under Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR-NIIH).
The programme was flagged off with Prof. Ramnath Misra, HoD, Department of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology, KIMS, welcoming the audience, which was followed by a crisp introduction to IEI by Dr. Sakir Ahmed, Associate Professor in the Department of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology in KIMS, Bhubaneswar.
The CME boasted of some of the top faculty in the field across the country, in the likes of, Dr. Manisha Madkaikar, Director, ICMR-NIIH, who gave an orientation to when an IEI is to be suspected and evaluated further. The session was chaired by Prof Deepika Mohanty, former Director, ICMR-NIIH and Prof Gautom Saharia, Additional Professor, Department of Biochemistry, AIIMS, Bhubaneswar.
Following the descriptive clinical approach, Dr Umair Bargir, Scientist-B, from Department of Pediatric Immunology and Lymphocyte Biology, NIIH, gave a lucid talk on the clues from laboratory tests, which tend to be often overlooked. This session was chaired by Prof Anupam Dey, HoD, Department of General Medicine, AIIMS, Bhubaneswar.
Recurrent diarrhoea is one of the common manifestations of IEI and they tend to present to Gastroenterologists with refractory diarrhoea. Dr. Aathira R, Consultant, Department of Paediatric Gastroenterology, Apollo Hospitals, Mysuru enlightened the audience on how the different GI manifestations present and their evaluation is done in clinical practice.
Lastly, in the context of Rheumatology, IEI can be a great masquerader in children and adults alike. Prof Pradeepta Patro, HoD, Department of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology, SUM Hospital, Bhubaneswar described an eloquent approach to suspecting IEI in patients with rheumatic diseases. The session was chaired by Prof Prasanta Padhan, Professor, Department of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology, KIMS, and Prof Manas Behera, Head, Department of Paediatrics, KIMS.
The academic programme concluded with a vote of thanks by Prof. Sibabrata Patnaik, Professor, Department of Paediatrics, KIMS.