Biscione G L, Corne J, Chauhan A J, Johnston S L
University Medicine, Southampton General Hospital, Southampton, UK.
Eur Respir J. 2004 Nov;24(5):745-9. doi: 10.1183/09031936.04.00049004.
Previous studies have suggested that chronic Chlamydophila pneumoniae infection may play a role in the pathogenesis of asthma. However, most studies have been based on serology and have been unable to differentiate acute from chronic infection. The present authors assessed the presence of acute and chronic C. pneumoniae infection in 74 spouse pairs, each consisting of one atopic asthmatic and one nonatopic nonasthmatic. Nasal secretions were sampled every 2 weeks from October to December and actively replicating C. pneumoniae infection was detected by specific RT-PCR. C. pneumoniae was detected in 31 out of 709 samples analysed, 23 (6.4%) were positive in 362 samples from asthmatic participants and in eight out of 347 (2.3%) samples from their normal spouses (with a significant difference in infection rates, 95% confidence interval: 4.2%, 1.2-7.2%). A total of 16 (22%) asthmatic and seven (9%) normal participants were positive at least once during the study. These data confirm that Chlamydophila pneumoniae infection is detected more frequently among asthmatic participants than normal control participants. Further studies are required to confirm whether infections are also present in the lower airway and whether Chlamydophila pneumoniae infection plays a role in disease pathogenesis.
先前的研究表明，慢性肺炎衣原体感染可能在哮喘的发病机制中起作用。然而，大多数研究基于血清学，无法区分急性感染和慢性感染。本文作者评估了74对配偶中急性和慢性肺炎衣原体感染的情况，每对配偶中一方为特应性哮喘患者，另一方为非特应性非哮喘患者。从10月至12月每2周采集一次鼻分泌物样本，并通过特异性逆转录聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）检测活跃复制的肺炎衣原体感染。在分析的709份样本中，有31份检测到肺炎衣原体，其中来自哮喘患者的362份样本中有23份（6.4%）呈阳性，来自其正常配偶的347份样本中有8份（2.3%）呈阳性（感染率有显著差异，95%置信区间：4.2%，1.2 - 7.2%）。在研究期间，共有16名（22%）哮喘患者和7名（9%）正常参与者至少有一次检测呈阳性。这些数据证实，哮喘患者中检测到肺炎衣原体感染的频率高于正常对照参与者。需要进一步研究以确认下呼吸道是否也存在感染，以及肺炎衣原体感染是否在疾病发病机制中起作用。
