title: Chlamydia pneumoniae infection in acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: analysis of 250 hospitalizations.
abstract: Two hundred fifty hospitalizations were included in a serologically based prospective study to assess the role of Chlamydia pneumoniae in episodes of acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) and the percentage of COPD patients chronically infected with this pathogen. Chlamydia pneumoniae-specific IgG, IgA and IgM antibody titers were determined using a commercial kit with the microimmunofluorescence method. A significantly higher geometric mean titer in the COPD patients compared to the control group was found for IgG (P<0.00001) and IgA (P<0.000001). The serological criterion for chronic Chlamydia pneumoniae infection (IgG > or = 28 concomitant with IgA > or = 64) was positive in 73 (33.3%) COPD patients compared with 7 (7%) controls (P=0.000001). No difference was found in any serological parameter when the study population was divided by severity of COPD. When the serological profiles were compared between the first and second of 31 pairs of hospitalizations, 7 of the 62 (11.3%) hospitalizations showed evidence of acute infection with Chlamydia pneumoniae around one of the episodes of AECOPD. It is concluded that compared with the control group, the COPD patients had a significantly higher prevalence of chronic Chlamydia pneumoniae infection. In the COPD group, there was no correlation between the severity of the disease and the rate of chronic Chlamydia pneumoniae infection. In a substantial percentage of AECOPD cases, there is serological evidence of acute Chlamydia pneumoniae infection around the time of the exacerbation. The clinical and pathophysiologic implications of these findings should be clarified by further studies.
authors.affiliation: Division of Internal Medicine, The Soroka Medical Center of Kupat Holim, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel. Lieberman@bgumail.bgu.ac.il
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lieberman
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ben-Yaakov
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Lazarovich
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ohana
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Boldur
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001784:Blood Gas Analysis; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016993:Chlamydophila pneumoniae / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018410:Pneumonia, Bacterial / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000628:therapy*; D011336:Probability; D011446:Prospective Studies; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013147:Spirometry