Role of Chlamydia pneumoniae in community-acquired pneumonia in hospitalized Jordanian adults

Abstract

Introduction: This study investigated the role of Chlamydia pneumoniae in the etiology of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in Jordanian adults. Methodology: Eighty hospitalized CAP patients and 110 healthy adults were enrolled. Overall prevalences of C. pneumoniae IgG antibodies in sera and the rate of acute infection were estimated, using the microimmunofluorescence method (MIF), at titers of 1:16 and 1:512, respectively. Moreover, a nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to detect C. pneumoniae DNA in nasopharyngeal and blood Buffy coat samples. Results: Overall chlamydial IgG prevalence was higher in CAP cases than controls (70% versus 61.8%). Similarly, higher rate of acute infection was found in patients than in controls (16.3% versus 5.5%). By focusing on subjects testing positive at 1:16, acute infection was detectable in 23.2% of CAP cases, compared with 8.8% of seropositive controls. Chlamydial DNA was confirmed in 8.2% and 8.8% of nasopharyngeal specimens from controls and patients, respectively. Moreover, 10.9% and 7.5% of Buffy coats from controls and cases, respectively, were PCR-positive. When performances of both assays for detection of the pathogen were assessed, the sensitivities of MIF and PCR were low and comparable. However, MIF demonstrated higher specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value than PCR. Conclusions: MIF-based data indicate that C. pneumoniae could be a potential causal agent of CAP in Jordan. This study may serve as a basis to elucidate the exact role C. pneumoniae and other co-infecting pathogens in the etiology of respiratory tract disease.

Role of Atypical Pathogens in the Etiology of Community-Acquired Pneumonia

“…In a recent study from Jordan, seroprevalence of 190 patients was compared between a group with CAP and a control group. 17 Rates were some of the highest in the world at 70% for CAP patients and 61% for controls. For titers above 1:512 (the highest positive dilution and considered in the study to be a sign of acute infection because convalescent titers were not feasible), the rates were 16% for those with CAP, and 5% for the controls; p ¼ 0.036.…”

Identification Markers of Infection Due to C. Trachomatis and C. Pneumoniae, in Patients With Diseases of the Gastrointestinal Tract

“…В последнее время накапливается все больше данных об участии C. pneumoniae в развитии атеросклероза, инфаркта миокарда, болезни Альцгеймера, бронхиальной астмы, саркоидоза, реактивных артритов, синдрома Рейтера и узловатой эритемы [2,4,9,27].…”

Nemonoxacin (Taigexyn®): A New Non-Fluorinated Quinolone

“…Most studies about aetiology show that Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae) remains the most frequently isolated pathogen in CAP patients [3,4]. The relative frequency of other typical pathogens include Haemophilus influenzae (H. influenzae), Moraxella catarrhalis (M. catarrhalis), and Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) [1,4,5], as well as atypical organisms include Mycoplasma pneumoniae (M. pneumoniae), Chlamydia pneumoniae (C. pneumoniae), and Legionella pneumophila (L. pneumophila) [6][7][8][9][10]. Recently, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is becoming a major pathogen of CAP and causing a rapidly fatal pneumonia characterized as pulmonary haemorrhage and rapid progression to respiratory failure [11][12][13].…”