CVI patients receive immunoglobulin injections, or IVIG, every 3-4 weeks to restore normal antibody levels. Infections are treated with antibiotics. Physical therapy and daily postural drainage may help clear clogged lungs. That is because girls have two sets of X chromosomes, and the normal copy compensates for the faulty gene. Infants with XLA develop frequent pus-producing infections of the inner ear, lungs, and sinuses.
Serious infections can develop in the bloodstream and internal organs.
Patients tend to cope sufficiently well with most viral infections, but are very susceptible to hepatitis, polio, and ECHO viruses. They may fail to grow to normal height or to gain weight. Their tonsils and adenoids are often missing. Patients with XLA have extremely low levels of mature B cells. This gene normally produces a protein called btk, which is required for B-cell development.