@#Abstract Objective To analyze the clinical characteristics of
Chlamydia psittaci pneumonia and improve the
diagnosis and
treatment skills of clinicians on this
disease.
Methods The clinical data of thirty-nine
Chlamydia psittaci pneumonia cases detected by metagenomic
next-generation sequencing (mNGS) from September 2020 to January 2022 at the Affiliated
Hospital of Southwest Medical
University were retrospectively analyzed. Results There was a
history of
poultry exposure in 89.7%(35 cases) of the
patients. The most common clinical manifestations were high
fever (92.3%, 36),
cough (76.9%,30),
muscle soreness (48.7%,19),
headache (38.5%,15), etc.
Laboratory examinations showed 76.9% of
patients had a normal
leukocyte count, and 76.9% had decreased
lymphocyte count, often accompanied by elevated
C-reactive protein (100%),
procalcitonin (97.4%),
interleukin-6 (95.8%),
interleukin-10 (95.8%),
alanine aminotransferase (74.4%), and
aspartate aminotransferase (84.6%). Univariate
analysis indicated that there were statistically significant differences in the levels of
aspartate transaminase,
blood urea nitrogen,
C-reactive protein, and
procalcitonin between severe
pneumonia patients and non-severe
pneumonia patients(P<0.05). Multivariate
logistic regression analysis showed that an elevated
blood urea nitrogen (OR=4.899) had guiding significance for predicting the occurrence of severe
pneumonia.
Bronchoscopy examination showed no
abnormalities in 53.6% of the
patients. The imaging manifestations of pulmonary lesions were mainly
lobar pneumonia (61.5%) and
air bronchograms (94.9%). Therapeutically, it was sensitive to
tetracyclines, macrocyclic
lactones, and
fluoroquinolones. A total of 84.6%(33 cases) of the
patients were cured and discharged from the
hospital at the end of the
treatment. Conclusion
Chlamydia psittaci pneumonia is a
zoonotic disease that can be detected by mNGS. An elevated
blood urea nitrogen level has guiding significance for predicting the occurrence of severe
pneumonia. Empirically-selected regimens based on
doxycycline are effective for the
treatment of
Chlamydia psittaci pneumonia.