Where is Chlamydophila pneumoniae pneumonia?

Abstract

Background: Molecular diagnostic methods have recently gained widespread use, and consequently, the importance of viral pathogens in community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) has undergone re-evaluation. Under these circumstances, the role of Chlamydophila pneumoniae as a pathogen that causes CAP also needs to be reviewed.

Methods: We reviewed articles that contained data on the frequency of identification of C. pneumoniae pneumonia as a causative pathogen for CAP. The articles were identified by performing a search in PubMed with the keywords "community-acquired pneumonia" and "pathogen".

Results: Sixty-three articles were identified. The reviewed articles demonstrated that the rates of identification of C. pneumoniae as the causative pathogen for CAP were significantly lower in assessments based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods than in those based on serological methods. In some studies, it was possible to compare both serological and PCR methods directly using the same set of samples.

Conclusions: The use of PCR methods, including multiplex PCR assays, has revealed that C. pneumoniae may play a limited role as a pathogen for CAP.

Keywords: Causative pathogen; Chlamydophila pneumoniae; Community-acquired pneumonia; PCR; Serology.