Persistent Infection with Chlamydia pneumoniae following Acute Respiratory Illness

Chlamydia pneumoniae is emerging as a significant cause of respiratory disease, including pneumonia and bronchitis, in humans. In this recently completed study of infection due to C. pneumoniae in patients presenting with pneumonia to SUNY Health Science Center at Brooklyn, we identified two individ...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Clinical infectious diseases 1992-01, Vol.14 (1), p.178-182
Main Authors: Hammerschlag, Margaret R., Chirgwin, Keith, Roblin, Patricia M., Gelling, Maureen, Dumornay, Wilson, Mandel, Laura, Smith, Peter, Schachter, Julius
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acute Disease
Adolescent
Adult
Antibodies
Bronchitis
Child
Child, Preschool
Chlamydia
Chlamydia Infections - drug therapy
Chlamydia Infections - microbiology
Chlamydophila pneumoniae - isolation & purification
Chronic Disease
Clinical Infectious Disease Articles
Cough
Diseases
Doxycycline - therapeutic use
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Infant
Infections
Male
Middle Aged
Pharyngitis
Pneumonia
Pneumonia - drug therapy
Pneumonia - microbiology
Serologic tests
Specimens
Tetracycline - therapeutic use
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Summary:Chlamydia pneumoniae is emerging as a significant cause of respiratory disease, including pneumonia and bronchitis, in humans. In this recently completed study of infection due to C. pneumoniae in patients presenting with pneumonia to SUNY Health Science Center at Brooklyn, we identified two individuals for whom cultures were positive on multiple occasions over a 1-year period. To determine the frequency of persistent respiratory infection with C. pneumoniae, follow-up specimens were obtained from nine individuals with culture-documented C. pneumoniae infection. Five of these individuals had persistent infection: four had a flulike illness characterized by pharyngitis, and one had bronchitis with prominent bronchospasm. All five individuals appeared to have acute C. pneumoniae infection as determined by results of serologic tests (titers of IgM antibody for all individuals were ⩾1:16). For three patients, cultures remained positive for 11 months despite therapy with 10- to 21-day courses of tetracycline or doxycycline. These observations suggest that persistent infection with C. pneumoniae may follow acute infection and may persist for many months. Infection with C. pneumoniae may be very difficult to eradicate with use of currently available antibiotics even if there is a clinical response to therapy.
ISSN:1058-4838
1537-6591
DOI:10.1093/clinids/14.1.178