[Analysis of clinical characteristics and current diagnosis and treatment status of IgG4-related diseases in the real world].

Abstract

Objective: To retrospectively analyze the current status of consultation, clinical characteristics, and treatment status of patients with IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) in order to provide assistance and a basis for early and standardized diagnosis and treatment. Methods: IgG4-RD cases admitted to our hospital from June 2015 to October 2023 were collected. The details of patients' basic information, initial symptoms, department visits, laboratory and imaging findings, histopathological examination results, and treatment plans were recorded. A statistical descriptive analysis was performed on the data. Results: A total of 105 patients with IgG4-RD were included, with a median age of 59.0 (18.0, 78.0) years. The main departments visited were clinical immunology and gastroenterology (83.8%, 88/105). The median diagnostic duration was eight months, with a maximum of 300 months, and 33.3% (35/105) of patients needed over one year for diagnosis. 92 cases underwent histopathological examinations and IgG4 staining, with a total positivity rate of 87.0% (80/92). Among these, sixteen cases underwent pathological examination after surgery, with a positivity rate of 100%; the remaining 76 cases out of 92 underwent liver biopsy, with a positivity rate of 76.1%. Out of these, there were 22 cases from the pancreas, 21 from the submaxillary gland, nine from the labial gland, and seven each from the duodenal papilla and liver, with positivity rates of 81.8%, 81.0%, 55.6%, 85.7%, and 85.7%, respectively. Eleven cases (10.5%) with normal serum IgG4 were diagnosed based on multi-organ involvement and pathological results. 94 cases (89.5%) had elevated IgG4, with a predominance of＞2.70 g/L. The median follow-up period for the 87 cases was 14 months. Two cases had poor response, twelve patients relapsed, five cases relapsed without combined drug treatment after surgery, five cases relapsed due to drug withdrawal, and two cases relapsed while tapering off steroids. Conclusions: As a multisystem disease, IgG4-RD still faces the difficulties of time-consuming diagnosis and inappropriate treatment. Therefore, it is necessary to rely on a multidisciplinary collaboration model to improve the awareness level and promote the early and standardized diagnosis and treatment of patients with IgG4-RD.