ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: Numerous studies have linked Chlamydia pneumoniae with atherosclerotic vessel disease and a trend for an association of the bacteria with restenosis after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) has also been observed. The aim of this study was to assess the role of Chlamydia pneumoniae in the luminal narrowing taking place after PTCA. DESIGN: A noninterventional 6-month follow-up study. SETTING: A university hospital. SUBJECTS: A total of 122 patients with angiographically proven coronary heart disease (CHD) referred for PTCA. INTERVENTIONS: None. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The degree of luminal narrowing in the coronary arteries following coronary angioplasty. RESULTS: The levels of C. pneumoniae antibodies (IgG, IgA and IgM classes) and immune complexes were not associated with luminal narrowing after PTCA in multivariate analyses whilst smoking, plasma endothelin levels and diabetes were. The serologic parameters did not change during the follow up either. CONCLUSIONS: These results do not support a role for C. pneumoniae in luminal narrowing following PTCA.
Subject(s)
Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary , Chlamydophila pneumoniae , Coronary Disease/microbiology , Coronary Disease/pathology , Coronary Vessels/microbiology , Coronary Vessels/pathology , Antibodies, Bacterial/blood , Chlamydophila pneumoniae/immunology , Coronary Disease/therapy , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , Linear Models , Male , Middle Aged , Multivariate AnalysisABSTRACT
Pivampicillin and doxycycline were compared in the treatment of chlamydial urethritis in 80 heterosexual men. The trial was carried out in a double-blind, comparative parallel group fashion. Forty patients were treated with 700 mg of pivampicillin twice daily and another 40 with 200 mg of doxycycline on the first day and thereafter with 100 mg of doxycycline and one placebo tablet daily. Both treatments lasted for 9 days. Follow-up examinations were carried out 2 weeks (14-16 days) and 4 weeks (26-30 days) after the start of treatment. Altogether five (12.5%) of the forty pivampicillin-treated patients were clinical failures and three (7.5%) still harbored Chlamydia trachomatis after treatment. The corresponding figures for the doxycycline-treated patients were two (5.1%) and one (2.6%). The difference between the treatment results of the two groups did not reach statistical significance.
