Mycoplasma pneumonia and Chlamydia pneumonia infection in patients admitted to Beheshti Hospital in Kashan with community-acquired pneumonia

Abstract

Objectives: The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence of Mycoplasma pneumoniae and Chlamydophila pneumoniae infections in patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) admitted to Beheshti hospital in Kashan.Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 160 CAP patients admitted to Beheshti hospital in Kashan. Serological tests were performed using the ELISA method to evaluate IgG and IgM antibodies for Mycoplasma and Chlamydia pneumoniae. A questionnaire was also completed, which included demographic data, hospitalization time, and clinical and paraclinical findings. The data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 20).Results: The study found that 19 (11.9%) cases tested positive for M. pneumoniae IgM antibodies, while 132 (82.5%) cases tested positive for M. pneumoniae IgG antibodies. For C. pneumoniae, 16 (10%) cases tested positive for IgM antibodies, and 151 (94.4%) cases tested positive for IgG antibodies. There was no significant association between M. pneumoniae and Chlamydia pneumoniae infections with sex, underlying illness, pneumonia severity, ICU admission, hospital death, hospitalization time, CRP, hematocrit, and platelet count. However, a significant relationship was observed between M. pneumoniae and chief complaint (p<0.001), as well as age (p = 0.122). Additionally, a significant relationship was found between C. pneumoniae and white blood cell count (p = 0.001), as well as changes in chest radiography (p = 0.001).Conclusion: Given the significant incidence of atypical infections in CAP patients and the difficulties in laboratory detection, effective antibiotics targeting Mycoplasma pneumoniae and Chlamydophila pneumoniae are strongly suggested in the empirical therapy of CAP.

Keywords

• community-acquired pneumonia
• chlamydia pneumoniae
• mycoplasma pneumoniae