Long-Lasting SARS-CoV-2 Infection With Post-COVID-19 Chronic Interstitial Pneumonia in a Patient With Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Treated Successfully With Intravenous Immunoglobulin

• Published in: Curēus (Palo Alto, CA) Vol. 16; no. 1; p. e51890
• Main Authors: Haddad, Ahmad, Al-Maharmeh, Qusai, Kloub, Mohammad N, Ali, Elrazi A, Shaaban, Hamid
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Cureus Inc 08-01-2024; Cureus
• Subjects: Antigens; Cancer therapies; COVID-19; Disease transmission; Hematology; Immunoglobulins; Infections; Infectious Disease; Leukemia; Medical imaging; Oncology; Patients; Pneumonia; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Steroids; Viral infections; United States > US; non-specific interstitial pneumonia; chronic lymphocytic leukemia (cll); covid-19 in cancer patients; intravenous immunoglobulin; sars-cov-2 and covid-19
• ISSN: 2168-8184; 2168-8184
• DOI: 10.7759/cureus.51890

Post-coronavirus disease 2019 (post-COVID-19) condition is a post-acute syndrome characterized by non-specific symptoms that remain for at least two months and typically appear three months after the start of the acute phase. Individuals with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) are considered to be at high risk of contracting COVID-19. It is also becoming increasingly evident that the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccine response is frequently lacking or insufficient. We present a 77-year-old male patient with CLL who had multiple hospitalizations for the management of pneumonia related to persistent COVID-19 infection due to hypogammaglobulinemia. He was subsequently treated with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG). This case emphasizes the importance of the early detection of hypogammaglobulinemia in patients with CLL and long COVID because of the potential therapeutic benefit of IVIG therapy. We also provide a literature review on COVID-19 infection in CLL patients, focusing mainly on the subset population of patients with hypergammaglobulinemia.