CLINICAL PICTURE AND FREQUENCY OF PNEUMONIA CAUSED BY CHLAMYDIA TRACHOMATIS IN CHILDREN AT THE AGE OF 1 TO 36 MONTHS – ANALYSIS
Journal Title: Przegląd Pediatryczny - Year 2009, Vol 39, Issue 2
Abstract
Introduction: Chlamydia trachomatis is a common infectious pathogen causing many diseases within various organs and systems. In the youngest patients it is, among others, a cause of pneumonia with very different clinical picture. The aim of study was to analyze the clinical course and prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis –induced pneumonia in hospitalized children. Materials and methods: The study comprosed 41 children aged 1 to 36 months (mean age 9 months and 20 days ± 8 months and 18 days) hospitalized in the 3rd Department of Paediatrics, Polish Mother’s Memorial Hospital – Research Institute in Lodz, Poland, between 2003-2008, with diagnosed pneumonia caused by Chlamydia trachomatis. Results: In the analyzed period, 1087 children aged 1 to 36 months were hospitalized due to pneumonia – among those, 41 (3.8%) had pneumonia with diagnosed Chlamydia trachomatis etiology. Pneumonia of Chlamydia trachomatis etiology was confirmed in 4.1% of infants, 3.5% of children in their second year of life, and 2.6% of the children in their third year of age. In the examined children, the most frequently observed clinical symptoms were paroxysmal cough and dyspnoea in 85.4% and 63.4% of the children, respectively. Other symptoms included: red throat (43.9%), rhinitis (41.5%), slightly increased body temperature (39.0%),and peripheral lymphadenopathy (19.5%). In physical examination, auscultatory changes above lung fields were observed in 78.0% of children. The increased marker for acute phase infection was rarely observed in laboratory investigations. The activity of Creactive protein was increased in 29.3%, whereas white blood cell count only in 7.3% of children, as compared to normal values.It is worth noticing that in the leucocyte count a considerable number of children had increased absolute number and percentage of monocytes – in 39.0% and 75.6% of children, respectively. Chest x-rays most often revealed interstitial inflammatory lesions and signs of distension in distal lung areas. Conclusions: Chlamydia trachomatis is an important factor causing pneumonia that may require hospitalization due to difficulties in the diagnosis, treatment, and serious course of the disease. The infection with this pathogen should be taken into consideration in the etiology of pneumonia not only in infants, but also in children in the second and third year of life.
Authors and Affiliations
Przemysław Kiciński, Treresa Woźniakowska-Gęsicka, Małgorzata Wiśniewska-Ligier, Tomasz Gęsicki
Keywords
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