3rd Department of Medicine, University of Athens Medical School, Sotiria General Hospital, Athens, Greece.
Eur J Intern Med. 2009 Oct;20(6):579-85. doi: 10.1016/j.ejim.2009.05.006. Epub 2009 Jun 7.
Chlamydophila pneumoniae has been recognized as a common cause of respiratory tract infections affecting all age groups. The organism has been implicated as an infectious trigger for acute exacerbations of COPD. Moreover, the intracellular existence of this pathogen and the ability to cause chronic respiratory infections have led to a number of studies that investigated its possible association with disease development. The present paper examines and discusses the possible association of acute C. pneumoniae infection in episodes of acute exacerbation of COPD. It also reviews the existing evidence of chronic C. pneumoniae infection with disease pathogenesis and severity. The significant interstudy variation of the choice of diagnostic methods and criteria applied is most likely responsible for the great diversity of results observed. The use of well-standardized, commercially available diagnostic tools, as well as the adoption of a more unified diagnostic approach is probably the key element missing in order to clarify the exact role of C. pneumoniae in COPD.
肺炎衣原体已被认为是一种常见的呼吸道感染病原体，可影响所有年龄段。该病原体已被认为是 COPD 急性加重的感染触发因素。此外，该病原体的细胞内存在及其引起慢性呼吸道感染的能力，导致了许多研究调查其与疾病发展的可能关联。本文检查并讨论了急性 C. 肺炎衣原体感染与 COPD 急性加重发作之间的可能关联。还回顾了慢性 C. 肺炎衣原体感染与疾病发病机制和严重程度的现有证据。选择应用的诊断方法和标准的显著研究间差异很可能是导致观察到的结果多样性的原因。使用标准化的、商业化的诊断工具，以及采用更统一的诊断方法，可能是为了阐明 C. 肺炎衣原体在 COPD 中的确切作用而缺失的关键因素。
