Possible Effect of Chlamydophila pneumoniae on COPD Exacerbation

Chlamydophila pneumoniae is one of the common causative agents of respiratory infections. The present study aims to find the role of Chlamydophila pneumoniae infection in infectious exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Sixty-five nasopharyngeal swab specimens of COPD patients were studied using fluorescent antibody staining with chlamydia specific conjugated antibody and with fluorescent microscopes. Data were analyzed by using SPSS software, version 13 A total of 65 COPD patients (as defined by the American Thoracic Society), 53 (81.5%) males and 12 (18.5%) females were included in the study. Forty-six (70.7%) subjects had exacerbated COPD while 19 (29.3%) were stable COPD patients. We found 4 positive cases of chlamydophila infection (6.15%), 3 of which (2 men and 1 woman) belonged to the exacerbation group and 1 had stable COPD. Data analysis revealed that there was no significant correlation between chlamydophila infection and COPD exacerbation (P= 0.848).)