Assessment of polymerase chain reaction and serology for detection of chlamydia pneumoniae in patients with acute respiratory tract infection / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study Chlamydia pneumoniae (C. pneumoniae) infection in 110 patients with respiratory tract infection admitted to our hospital from January to December 1995 in Nanjing.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Sputum and throat swab specimens were taken and C. pneumoniae DNA was detected by using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with the HM-1-HR-1 primer pair. At the same time, serum samples were taken and immunoglobulin G and M (IgG and IgM) fractions of antibodies to C. pneumoniae were studied by microimmunofluorescence test.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Prevalence of specific IgG was 70% in patients with respiratory tract infection. Seventeen patients (15.5%) were serologically diagnosed as having recent C. pneumoniae infections and 12 patients (10.9%) had positive PCR in sputum and/or swab specimens. The total positive rate was 22.7% (25/110) detected by PCR combined with serological tests. Acute infection of C. pneumoniae was common in patients with asthma (57.1%), pneumonia (35.0%), COPD (25.9%) and bronchitis (25.0%). Clinical features between C. pneumoniae infection and non-C. pneumonia infection showed no significant differences.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Chlamydia pneumoniae is an important pathogen that causes infection of the human respiratory tract and attention should be drawn to this special illness.</p>