Trends in Diagnosis of Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency Between 2015 and 2019 in a Reference Laboratory

There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

Abstract

Background

Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) remains largely underdiagnosed despite recommendations of healthcare institutions and programmes designed to increase awareness. The objective was to analyse the trends in AATD diagnosis during the last 5 years in a Spanish AATD reference laboratory.

Methods

This was a retrospective revision of all alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) determinations undertaken in our laboratory from 2015 to 2019. We analysed the number of AAT determinations performed and described the characteristics of the individuals tested, as well as the medical specialties and the reasons for requesting AAT determination.

Results

A total of 3507 determinations were performed, of which 5.5% corresponded to children. A significant increase in the number of AAT determinations was observed from 349 in 2015 to 872 in 2019. Among the samples, 57.6% carried an intermediate AATD (50–119 mg/dL) and 2.4% severe deficiency (<50 mg/dL). The most frequent phenotype in severe AATD individuals was PI*ZZ (78.5%), and aminotransferase levels were above normal in around 43% of children and 30% of adults. Respiratory specialists requested the highest number of AAT determinations (31.5%) followed by digestive diseases and internal medicine (27.5%) and primary care physicians (19.7%). The main reason for AAT determination in severe AATD adults was chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (41.7%), but reasons for requesting AAT determination were not reported in up to 41.7% of adults and 58.3% of children.

Conclusion

There is an increase in the frequency of AATD testing despite the rate of AAT determination remaining low. Awareness about AAT is probably increasing, but the reason for testing is not always clear.

Related collections

Most cited references 39

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Development of a simple noninvasive index to predict significant fibrosis in patients with HIV/HCV coinfection.

Mark Sulkowski, , F Torriani … (2006)

Liver biopsy remains the gold standard in the assessment of severity of liver disease. Noninvasive tests have gained popularity to predict histology in view of the associated risks of biopsy. However, many models include tests not readily available, and there are limited data from patients with HIV/hepatitis C virus (HCV) coinfection. We aimed to develop a model using routine tests to predict liver fibrosis in patients with HIV/HCV coinfection. A retrospective analysis of liver histology was performed in 832 patients. Liver fibrosis was assessed via Ishak score; patients were categorized as 0-1, 2-3, or 4-6 and were randomly assigned to training (n = 555) or validation (n = 277) sets. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that platelet count (PLT), age, AST, and INR were significantly associated with fibrosis. Additional analysis revealed PLT, age, AST, and ALT as an alternative model. Based on this, a simple index (FIB-4) was developed: age ([yr] x AST [U/L]) / ((PLT [10(9)/L]) x (ALT [U/L])(1/2)). The AUROC of the index was 0.765 for differentiation between Ishak stage 0-3 and 4-6. At a cutoff of 3.25 had a positive predictive value of 65% and a specificity of 97%. Using these cutoffs, 87% of the 198 patients with FIB-4 values outside 1.45-3.25 would be correctly classified, and liver biopsy could be avoided in 71% of the validation group. In conclusion, noninvasive tests can accurately predict hepatic fibrosis and may reduce the need for liver biopsy in the majority of HIV/HCV-coinfected patients.

0 comments Cited 63 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Estimated numbers and prevalence of PIS and PIZ alleles of alpha1-antitrypsin deficiency in European countries.

F Serres, I Blanco, Natalie E Bustillo … (2005)

The current study focuses on developing estimates of the numbers of individuals carrying the two most common deficiency alleles, PI*S and PI*Z, for alpha1-antitrypsin deficiency (AT-D) in Europe. Criteria for selection of epidemiological studies were: 1) AT phenotyping performed by isoelectrofocusing or antigen-antibody crossed electrophoresis; 2) rejection of "screening studies"; 3) statistical precision factor score of > or = 5 for Southwest, Western and Northern Europe, > or = 4 for Central Europe, > or = 3 for Eastern Europe; and 4) samples representative of the general population. A total of 75,390 individuals were selected from 21 European countries (one each from Austria, Belgium, Latvia, Hungary, Serbia-Montenegro, Sweden and Switzerland; two each from Denmark, Estonia and Lithuania; three each from Portugal and the UK; four each from Finland, The Netherlands, Norway and Spain; five each from Russia and Germany; six from Poland; eight from Italy; and nine from France). The total AT-D populations of a particular phenotype in the countries selected were: 124,594 ZZ; 560,515 SZ; 16,323,226 MZ; 630,401 SS; and 36,716,819 MS. The largest number of ZZ (5,000-15,000) were in Italy, Spain, Germany, France, the UK, Latvia, Sweden and Denmark, followed by Belgium, Portugal, Serbia-Montenegro, Russia, The Netherlands, Norway and Austria (1,000-2,000), with < 1,000 in each of the remaining countries. A remarkable lack in number of reliable epidemiological studies and marked differences among these European countries and regions within a given country was also found.

0 comments Cited 40 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Serum levels and genotype distribution of α1-antitrypsin in the general population.

Maurizio Luisetti, Erich Russi, Ilaria Ferrarotti … (2012)

α1-Antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency is one of the commonest rare respiratory disorders worldwide. Diagnosis, assessment of risk for developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and management of replacement therapy require the availability of precise and updated ranges for protein serum levels. This paper aims to provide ranges of serum AAT according to the main genotype classes in the general population. The authors correlated mean AAT serum levels with the main SERPINA1 variants (M1Ala/M1Val (rs6647), M3 (rs1303), M2/M4 (rs709932), S (rs17580) and Z (rs28929474)) in 6057 individuals enrolled in the Swiss Cohort Study on Air Pollution and Lung Diseases in Adults (SAPALDIA) cohort. The following ranges (5th-95th percentile) of AAT were found in the serum (g/litre): 1.050-1.640 for PI*MM, 0.880-1.369 for PI*MS, 0.730-1.060 for PI*SS, 0.660-0.997 for PI*MZ and 0.490-0.660 for PI*SZ. There was very little overlap in AAT serum levels between genotype classes generally not believed to confer an enhanced health risk (MM and MS) and those associated with an intermediate AAT deficiency and a potentially mildly enhanced health risk (SS, MZ). This work resulted in three important findings: technically updated and narrower serum ranges for AAT according to PI genotype; a suggestion for a population-based 'protective threshold' of AAT serum level, used in decision-making for replacement therapy; and more precise ranges framing the intermediate AAT deficiency area, a potential target for future primary prevention.

0 comments Cited 32 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

All references

Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis

Journal ID (publisher-id): copd

Journal ID (pmc): copd

Title: International Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Publisher: Dove

ISSN (Print): 1176-9106

ISSN (Electronic): 1178-2005

Publication date (Electronic): 07 October 2020

Publication date Collection: 2020

Volume: 15

Pages: 2421-2431

Affiliations

[1 ]Pneumology Department, Hospital Universitari Vall d’Hebron, Vall d’Hebron Institut de Recerca (VHIR), Vall d’Hebron Barcelona Hospital Campus , Barcelona, Spain

[2 ]Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona , Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès). Barcelona, Spain

[3 ]Liver Unit, Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital Universitari Vall d’Hebron; Vall d’Hebron Institut de Recerca (VHIR), Vall d’Hebron Barcelona Hospital Campus , Barcelona, Spain

[4 ]Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Hospital Universitari Vall d’Hebron, Vall d’Hebron Barcelona Hospital Campus , Barcelona, Spain

[5 ]Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas , Madrid, Spain

[6 ]CIBER de Enfermedades Respiratorias (CIBERES) , Barcelona, Spain

Author notes

Correspondence: Marc Miravitlles Pneumology Department, Hospital Universitari Vall d’Hebron, Vall d’Hebron Institut de Recerca (VHIR), Vall d’Hebron Barcelona Hospital Campus , P. Vall d’Hebron 119-129, Barcelona08035, Spain Email marcm@separ.es

Article

Publisher ID: 269641

DOI: 10.2147/COPD.S269641

PMC ID: 7548232

License:

This work is published and licensed by Dove Medical Press Limited. The full terms of this license are available at https://www.dovepress.com/terms.php and incorporate the Creative Commons Attribution – Non Commercial (unported, v3.0) License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/). By accessing the work you hereby accept the Terms. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed. For permission for commercial use of this work, please see paragraphs 4.2 and 5 of our Terms ( https://www.dovepress.com/terms.php).

Page count

Figures: 5, Tables: 17, References: 39, Pages: 11

Funding

Funded by: Grifols to the Catalan Center;

This study was supported through funding from Grifols to the Catalan Center for Research in Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency of the Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) in the Vall d’Hebron Barcelona Hospital Campus, Barcelona, Spain.