Patients Treated for Chronic Granulomatous Disease (CGD) Since 1995

Chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) is an immune deficiency where the neutrophils (a type of white blood cell that kills bacteria and fungi) do no work properly. Some individuals with CGD have neutrophils that do not work at all, whereas others have neutrophils that work partially, but not normally. In the past (over 20 years ago), most individuals with CGD were managed with antibiotics and antifungal medications alone. As the science of blood and marrow transplant (BMT) improved, some with CGD started to receive a BMT. It remained controversial whether individuals with CGD should receive a BMT or medical management alone (antibiotics, antifungals, and other treatments that do not include BMT). The aim of this natural history study is to better define the role of BMT compared to medical management of CGD. Specifically, what are the outcomes of BMT versus medical management alone, why do some individuals with CGD benefit from BMT, and what are the long-term outcomes of both approaches. Researchers are interested in how individuals with CGD who have no neutrophil function may differ from those with some neutrophil function, how the types of infections and inflammatory complications of CGD impact on survival and how BMT may improve these complications. There are also questions as to how the types of bacteria (called the microbiome) found in the gastrointestinal tract (colon, large intestine) of individuals with CGD influences certain inflammatory complications (such as colitis), and how BMT changes the microbiome in individuals with CGD. All of this will help doctors in the future to better treat patients with CGD. This study includes a retrospective (looking back into the past), cross-sectional (one time collection of information and/or research testing) and a prospective (looking from today and into the future) component. These are known as longitudinal studies (e.g., looking at information of participants over time). Persons with CGD who were born 1988 to the present day are eligible, regardless of whether they received a BMT (as long as the BMT was after 1995) or medical therapy only. Individuals who are newly diagnosed with CGD can also be enrolled and followed longitudinally (over time), to determine their outcome from the choice of therapy that is made. An important component of this study is the 'cross sectional' study, where participants with more than 3 years of follow-up after transplant or diagnosis are asked to provide additional research blood work, and information is gathered regarding long-term transplant outcomes such as infections, graft-versus-host disease, autoimmune diseases, and quality of life. In addition, the participants will be asked to provide stool samples to allow investigators to look at how certain bacteria found in the gut (called the microbiome) affect complications of CGD, such as gastrointestinal disease. This will allow primary immune deficiency investigators/doctors to better understand the outcomes of different therapeutic approaches and to best design new treatments and clinical trials in the future for children with CGD.