[Is there a link between chronic chlamydial infection and childhood asthma?].
OBJECTIVE
The paper explores the possible role of chronic chlamydial infection in childhood bronchial asthma.


METHODS
Sera of 51 asthmatic children and 36 controls were examined by ELISA in search for specific IgA anti-Chlamydia pneumoniae and anti-Chlamydia trachomatis.


RESULTS
Results were positive for Chlamydia pneumoniae in 7/51 children with asthma compared with 1/36 controls. Specific IgA anti-Chlamydia trachomatis antibodies were detected in 2/51 patients with asthma and in one of the 36 controls. Infected children, more often than asthmatics without specific chlamydial IgA, suffered from more severe forms of asthma and required multiple-drug therapy, but none of the differences appeared statistically significant.
Tyl
Joanna
J
Klinika Pediatrii, Gastroenterologii i Onkologii, Dziecieca Akademia Medyczna, 80-803 Gdańsk, Poland.
D000293:Adolescent; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D001249:Asthma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002690:Chlamydia Infections / Q000150:complications*; D002692:Chlamydia trachomatis / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016993:Chlamydophila pneumoniae / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007070:Immunoglobulin A / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D015415:Biomarkers; D007070:Immunoglobulin A