Highlights & Basics
- Chlamydia pneumoniae is a bacterial respiratory pathogen that is a frequent cause of community-acquired pneumonia in children and adults.
- An obligate intracellular bacterium that can only be isolated in tissue culture, although culture is not widely available. Infection can be diagnosed using nucleic acid amplification tests and two FDA-approved commercial assays are now available.
- Pneumonia due to Chlamydia pneumoniae cannot be differentiated clinically from pneumonia due to other atypical organisms, especially Mycoplasma pneumoniae.
- Treatment with macrolides, fluoroquinolones, or tetracyclines appears to be equally efficacious.
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Kumar S, Hammerschlag MR. Acute respiratory infection due to Chlamydia pneumoniae: current status of diagnostic methods. Clin Infect Dis. 2007 Feb 15;44(4):568-76.[Abstract][Full Text]
Rockey DD, Lenart J, Stephens RS. Genome sequencing and our understanding of Chlamydiae. Infect Immun. 2000 Oct;68(10):5473-9.[Abstract][Full Text]
1. Kumar S, Hammerschlag MR. Acute respiratory infection due to Chlamydia pneumoniae: current status of diagnostic methods. Clin Infect Dis. 2007 Feb 15;44(4):568-76.[Abstract][Full Text]
2. Hammerschlag M, Kohlhoff S, Gaydos C. Chlamydia pneumoniae. In:Bennett J, Dolin R, Blaser M, eds. In: Mandell, Douglas, And Bennett's Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases. 9th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2020:2323-31
3. Hyman CL, Roblin PM, Gaydos CA, et al. The prevalence of asymptomatic nasopharyngeal carriage of Chlamydia pneumoniae in subjectively healthy adults: assessment by polymerase chain reaction-enzyme immunoassay and culture. Clin Infect Dis. 1995 May;20(5):1174-8.[Abstract]
4. Rockey DD, Lenart J, Stephens RS. Genome sequencing and our understanding of Chlamydiae. Infect Immun. 2000 Oct;68(10):5473-9.[Abstract][Full Text]
5. Csango PA, Haraldstad S, Pedersen JE, et al. Respiratory tract infection due to Chlamydia pneumoniae in military personnel. Scand J Infect Dis Suppl. 1997;104:26-9.[Abstract]
6. Troy CJ, Peeling RW, Ellis AG, et al. Chlamydia pneumoniae as a new source of infectious outbreaks in nursing homes. JAMA. 1997 Apr 16;277(15):1214-8.[Abstract]
7. Nakashima K, Tanaka T, Kramer MH, et al. Outbreak of Chlamydia pneumoniae infection in a Japanese nursing home, 1999-2000. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2006 Nov;27(11):1171-7.[Abstract]
8. Kumar S, Kutlin S, Roblin P, et al. Isolation and antimicrobial susceptibilities of chlamydial isolates from Western barred bandicoots. J Clin Microbiol. 2007 Feb;45(2):392-4.[Abstract][Full Text]
9. Hyman CL, Augenbraun MH, Roblin PM, et al. Asymptomatic respiratory tract infection with Chlamydia pneumoniae TWAR. J Clin Microbiol. 1991 Sep;29(9):2082-3.[Abstract][Full Text]
10. Falsey AR, Walsh EE. Transmission of Chlamydia pneumoniae. J Infect Dis. 1993 Aug;168(2):493-6.[Abstract]
11. Gray GC, Witucki PJ, Gould MT, et al. Randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial of oral azithromycin prophylaxis against respiratory infections in a high-risk young adult population. Clin Infect Dis. 2001 Oct 1;33(7):983-9.[Abstract][Full Text]
12. Metlay JP, Waterer GW, Long AC, et al. Diagnosis and treatment of adults with community-acquired pneumonia. An official clinical practice guideline of the American Thoracic Society and Infectious Diseases Society of America. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2019 Oct 1;200(7):e45-67.[Abstract][Full Text]
13. Kohlhoff SA, Hammerschlag MR. Treatment of chlamydial infections: 2014 update. Expert Opin Pharmacother. 2015 Feb;16(2):205-12.[Abstract]
14. Hammerschlag MR, Roblin PM. Microbiologic efficacy of levofloxacin for the treatment of community-acquired pneumonia due to Chlamydia pneumoniae. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2000 May;44(5):1409.[Abstract][Full Text]
15. Hammerschlag MR, Roblin PM. Microbiologic efficacy of moxifloxacin for the treatment of community-acquired pneumonia due to Chlamydia pneumoniae. Int J Antimicrob Agents. 2000 Jul;15(2):149-52.[Abstract]
16. European Medicines Agency. Quinolone- and fluoroquinolone-containing medicinal products. Mar 2019 [internet publication].[Full Text]
17. Food and Drug Administration. FDA Drug Safety Communication: FDA advises restricting fluoroquinolone antibiotic use for certain uncomplicated infections; warns about disabling side effects that can occur together. Mar 2018 [internet publication].[Full Text]
18. Food and Drug Administration. FDA warns about increased risk of ruptures or tears in the aorta blood vessel with fluoroquinolone antibiotics in certain patients. Dec 2018 [internet publication].[Full Text]
19. Food and Drug Administration. FDA Drug Safety Communication: FDA reinforces safety information about serious low blood sugar levels and mental health side effects with fluoroquinolone antibiotics; requires label changes. Jul 2018 [internet publication][Full Text]
20. Block S, Hedrick J, Hammerschlag MR, et al. Mycoplasma pneumoniae and Chlamydia pneumoniae in community acquired pneumonia in children: comparative safety and efficacy of clarithromycin and erythromycin suspensions. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 1995 Jun;14(6):471-7.[Abstract]
21. Harris J-A, Kolokathis A, Campbell M, et al. Safety and efficacy of azithromycin in the treatment of community acquired pneumonia in children. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 1998 Oct;17(10):865-71.[Abstract]
22. Roblin PM, Hammerschlag MR. Microbiologic efficacy of azithro-mycin and susceptibility to azithromycin of isolates of Chlamydia pneumoniae from adults and children with community acquired pneumonia. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1998 Jan;42(1):194-6.[Abstract][Full Text]
23. Hammerschlag MR, Chirgwin K, Roblin PM, et al. Persistent infection with Chlamydia pneumoniae following acute respiratory illness. Clin Infect Dis. 1992 Jan;14(1):178-82.[Abstract]
24. Emre U, Roblin PM, Gelling M, et al. The association of Chlamydia pneumoniae infection and reactive airway disease in children. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1994 Jul;148(7):727-32.[Abstract]
25. Riska PF, Kutlin A, Ajiboye P, et al. Genetic and culture-based approaches for detecting macrolide resistance in Chlamydia pneumoniae. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2004 Sep;48(9):3586-90.[Abstract][Full Text]
