Chlamydia pneumoniae infection and nonspecific aortoarteritis: search for a link with a nonatherosclerotic inflammatory arterial disease.

BACKGROUND: The association between Chlamydia pneumoniae infection and atherosclerosis has gained recognition. However, the nature of this association is controversial. The infective link may not be specific for atherosclerosis and may also exist in other nonatherosclerotic arterial diseases. We investigated patients with nonspecific aortoarteritis for serological evidence of prior Chlamydia pneumoniae infection. METHODS AND RESULTS: Fifty patients each of nonspecific aortoarteritis and coronary artery disease with angiographic evidence of significant (>70%) coronary artery lesions were tested for the presence of IgG antibodies against Chlamydia pneumoniae by micro-immunofluorescence assay and compared with 50 age- and sex-matched normal healthy controls. The number of patients with nonspecific aortoarteritis who tested positive for Chlamydia pneumoniae antibodies (IgG) was not significantly different from controls (8 v. 7, p=ns). The mean titer amongst positive subjects in the two groups was also similar (1:40+/-40 v. 1:50+/-25; p=ns). Patients with coronary artery disease were significantly older than patients with nonspecific aortoarteritis and controls (53.2+/-5.8 v. 21.2+/-9.9 years and 24.5+/-5.2 years, p<0.01 for both) and showed a higher seroprevalence of prior Chlamydia pneumoniae infection (18 v. 8 and 7, p < 0.05 for both). The mean IgG titers of patients with coronary artery disease who tested positive were also significantly higher than the other two groups (1:98+/-34 v. 1:40+/-40, p<0.001 and 1:98+/-34 v. 1:50+/-25, p<0.01, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: In patients with nonspecific aortoarteritis, the seroprevalence of prior Chlamydia pneumnoniae infection is not more than that in healthy individuals of the same age group, but is significantly lesser than that in patients with coronary artery disease. Thus Chlamydia pneumoniae infection may not be associated with all forms of chronic inflammatory arterial lesions.

Human pythiosis in Srinagarind Hospital: one year's experience.

We have reported four cases of human pythiosis arteritis from Srinagarind Hospital, Khon Kaen, Thailand. This unusual human infection occurring perhaps exclusively in thalassemia and hemoglobinopathy patients, should be noted by physicians, who work in areas with a high incidence of hemoglobinopathy, and for patients who present with unexplained arterial insufficiency. As our reported cases occurred within only one year, this condition may be more common than originally suspected and found more frequently if actively searched for.

Arterites dependentes de processo infeccioso: a conveniencia do uso de heparina / Arteritis dependent of infectious process: the convenience of heparin use

Em 20 pacientes com arterite periferica foram investigadas 1) a presenca do agente etiologico nos vasos pertencentes as areas isquemicas, 2) a relacao entre o tempo de instalacao e de evolucao das lesoes cutaneas e de extremidades e o processo infeccioso, e 3) a conveniencia da anticoagulacao terapeutica. Dez pacientes eram portadores de doenca meningococica com hemocultura positiva para Neisseria meningitidis. Indetificou-se a presenca de meningococo em vasos das areas isquemico-necroticas, atraves de microscopia eletronica. As lesoes cutaneas tiveram instalacao e evolucao rapidas e no momento do diagnostico clinico da infeccao meningococia, elas ja eram irreversiveis. Por isso, considerou-se que a anticoagulacao terapeutica nao seria eficiente. Cinco pacientes tinham infeccao pulmonar ou gastrointestinal. Nao se encontrou microrganismos nos vasos das areas lesadas. As lesoes cutaneas tiveram instalacao e evolucao ao longo de dois a seis dias apos o momento do diagnostico clinico do quadro infeccioso. Por isso, considerou-se conveniente a heparinizacao visando bloquear o alastramento de coagulacao intravascular secundaria a vasculite disseminada. Cinco pacientes tiveram possivel arterite de sensibilizacao pos-estreptococica (tres) e arterite de sensibilizacao pos-sarampo (dois). Nao se identificou microrganismo nos vasos das areas lesadas. As lesoes cutaneas e de extremidades instalaram-se cinco a 21 dias apos resolucao clinica da infeccao pregressa e evoluiram ate a forma definitiva por um periodo de um a quatro dias. considerou-se conveniente iniciar a heparinizacao no periodo de evolucao das lesoes perifericas, pretendendo-se assim, reduzir a intensidade da isquemia por bloqueio da coagulacao intravascular secundaria a vasculite...