Chlamydia pneumonia blood test is higher than normal. Features of symptoms and treatment of chlamydia pneumoniae

Having nonspecific symptoms and clinical course, and can cause serious complications. The disease is caused by a pathogenic microorganism called chlamydia pneumoniae, which is quite difficult to identify and eliminate. What is this pathogen, microbiology and how is the disease treated?

Chlamydia is a microorganism that occupies an intermediate position between viruses and bacteria. Most often it strikes genitourinary system humans, but can cause respiratory infections in both adults and children. There are several types of chlamydia, but the diseases respiratory tract Chlamydia most often causes pneumonia.

The pathogen is transmitted from a carrier of the disease air- by drip , and infection can occur even in the absence pronounced signs pneumonia in a patient. Incubation period chlamydial pneumonia is from 2 to 4 weeks. Microorganisms live and multiply inside cells, disrupt their functioning in the process of vital activity, and can do without oxygen, but are not able to exist outside the host’s body.

The main feature of the pathogen is its ability to exist for a long time on the mucous membranes of the respiratory organs without causing any symptoms. In external environment Chlamydia pneumoniae quickly dies due to sensitivity to chemicals, disinfectants and high temperatures. The most susceptible to infection are people with weakened immune systems and concomitant pathologies, as well as those who lead an unhealthy lifestyle and have bad habits.

REFERENCE! Most often, chlamydial pneumonia occurs in children under 7 years of age, but people are also susceptible to it young(up to 35 years) and elderly patients. Men make up about 90% of all patients (most likely, this is due to the fact that males smoke much more often than women).

Symptoms of the disease

Typically, signs of pneumonia caused by chlamydia pneumonia develop gradually, and the onset of the disease resembles common cold, pharyngitis, laryngitis, bronchitis, etc.

The main symptom is cough, dry or with the discharge of small, scanty purulent sputum, which continues for several weeks or even months. The patient has a rise low temperature(37-37.5 degrees), headaches are observed, severe weakness, hoarseness.

The throat sometimes swells, but the shade of the mucous membrane does not change; a rash, pain in the joints and abdomen, and neurological disorders may be observed. On at this stage Patients are usually diagnosed with ARVI, and when improper treatment or its absence, bronchitis develops, after which the inflammatory process affects the lungs.

Pneumonia begins 1-4 weeks after the first symptoms appear respiratory infection. The temperature may rise to 39-40 degrees, but in most cases remains normal, other manifestations of intoxication are also rare. The cough becomes abrupt and sharp, attacks occur more often and are accompanied by shortness of breath.

IMPORTANT! Diagnosing and treating chlamydial pneumonia in children is more difficult than in adults, since the clinical picture is blurred and resembles signs of other diseases.

Diagnostics

Making a diagnosis for this disease is complicated by the fact that specific indicators are not observed in the results of tests and examinations of the patient. To identify chlamydia pneumonia it is necessary special study, which allows you to identify specific antibodies to the pathogen in the patient’s body.

1. External inspection and listening chest. These methods do not provide a clear picture of the disease. With percussion (tapping certain areas above the lungs), no changes are observed, but dulling of the sound is possible; when listening to the chest, fine rales are heard, which are usually localized in the lower parts of the lungs, or scattered throughout the chest.
2. General blood test. Leukocytosis, increase in ESR and a shift in the blood count to the left in patients with chlamydial pneumonia may be absent or appear slightly.
3. . X-ray examination may also not reveal significant changes. Most often, there is an increase in the pulmonary pattern, small infiltrates (usually in the lower part of the lungs) or signs of small-focal pneumonia. Extensive lesions are rarely observed.

Differential diagnosis chlamydial pneumonia is carried out with other atypical forms of the disease, influenza, whooping cough.

REFERENCE! One of the most reliable methods Determining pneumonia caused by chlamydia is to isolate fragments of the pathogenic microorganism from sputum and a swab from the patient’s nasopharynx, but it takes too much time and is not carried out in all medical institutions.

Antibodies, if detected in tests

Chlamydial pneumonia is detected by identifying specific immunoglobulins in blood samples using ELISA. IgA, IgM and IgG, which begin to be produced in the patient’s body after exposure to the pathogen.

Based on the level of these antibodies, it is possible to determine not only the presence of the disease, but also its stage and clinical features.

The body's immune response to chlamydial pneumonia does not form immediately in adults and children - antibodies IgM positive an analysis that will show 1-6 weeks after infection, IgG after 6-8 weeks, so too early diagnosis does not give reliable results. The presence of the disease is usually indicated by the following indicators:

• IgA>1:256;
• IgM>1:16;
• IgG>1:512.

Immunoglobulins can be detected either independently or in combinations. The detection of IgM antibodies indicates that the body has begun to fight the infection, and the higher the level of these proteins, the more active the inflammatory process. Over time, they completely disappear from blood samples.

IgA antibodies are produced later than IgM antibodies, and are observed during the acute course of the disease, and are usually determined to assess the effectiveness of treatment. At proper therapy the titer of class A immunoglobulins begins to decline sharply. IgG are antibodies, which indicates the beginning of the healing process and the development of immunity to the disease. They can be detected within three years after the transfer inflammatory process with successful treatment.

An immunoglobulin test in adults is carried out several times (usually 2-3 times) - the first test is performed 2-4 weeks after the development of the first symptoms, the second about a week after the onset specific treatment, the third after the symptoms of the disease disappear.

IMPORTANT! The most unfavorable sign is the combination of elevated IgG and IgA titers - they indicate the ineffectiveness of treatment and the infection becoming chronic.

Treatment

Patients diagnosed with chlamydial pneumonia undergo mandatory therapy - broad-spectrum drugs are prescribed until the results of the serological analysis are obtained, and after identifying the pathogen, macrolides, tetracyclines or fluoroquinolones are used.

Together with antimicrobial therapy carried out symptomatic treatment– antipyretics and painkillers, and when normal temperature body and satisfactory general condition, physiotherapeutic methods are prescribed. Vitamin therapy is prescribed only during the recovery stage - most experts agree that taking similar drugs leads to the proliferation of microorganisms and aggravation of the disease.

Without specific therapy chlamydial pneumonia can become chronic and cause serious complications - lung abscesses, myocarditis, endocarditis, pleurisy, etc. In addition, in 10% of cases the disease is fatal.

To date, there are no clinical, epidemiological or laboratory symptoms, which would allow early stages identify lung damage Mycoplasma pneumoniae. Diagnosis is carried out only after the appearance of symptoms characteristic of the pathology. There are certain signs to suspect atypical pneumonia:

• A sharp increase in body temperature from the first for the disease from 38 °C.
• Productive cough with viscous purulent sputum.
• Difficulty breathing, shortness of breath and blue discoloration of the nasolabial triangle.
• An increase in the number of leukocytes in the blood.

PCR

An experimental diagnostic method of molecular biology to determine the state of DNA fragments in biological material- This is a polymerase chain reaction. PCR for suspected mycoplasma pneumonia is a test of blood, sputum, pleural fluid and other types of biomaterial for pathogenic microorganisms.

Advantages of PCR:

• Increased percentage of pathogen DNA detection in clinical samples in comparison with standard diagnostic microbiological methods.
• High sensitivity if generalized processes in the body are suspected.
• Identification of difficult-to-cultivate microorganisms and unculturable forms of bacteria in persistent infections.

Detection of pathogens in biomaterial does not always have diagnostic value. This is due to the fact that many microorganisms normally live in the respiratory tract, but under certain conditions they realize their pathogenic potential, causing infectious processes.

ELISA

A laboratory immunological method for the qualitative/quantitative determination of viruses and other pathogens is ELISA. Enzyme immunoassay is carried out in the following cases:

• Search for specific antibodies to infectious pathologies.
• Determination of antigens to various diseases.
• Study of hormonal status.
• Screening for autoimmune diseases and tumor markers.

The advantages of ELISA are high sensitivity and specificity, the ability to determine the disease and monitor the dynamics of the pathological process. The main disadvantage of the method is the detection of antibodies, that is, the immune response, and not the pathogen itself.

To identify Mycoplasma pneumoniae, blood is taken for ELISA. The analysis is considered confirmed if immunoglobulins IgM, G are detected in the blood. If the increase in antibody titer is increased by 3-4 times or more, then enzyme immunoassay confirms atypical pneumonia.

Antibodies to mycoplasma pneumonia iG

Specific antibodies produced by the immune system in response to infection by various pathogens are immunoglobulins. Antibodies to mycoplasma pneumonia igg are serological markers indicating a pathological process in the body.

Mycoplasma pneumoniae is intermediate between bacteria, protozoa and viruses. It causes damage to the respiratory system and accounts for about 20% of all cases of community-acquired pneumonia. After infection, the immune system begins to actively produce immunoglobulins A, M and G.

IgG against mycoplasma infection appears after 2-4 weeks and continues to be produced for a long period of time, usually more than a year. A blood test for these immunoglobulins is included in a set of mandatory laboratory tests if atypical pneumonia is suspected. To reduce the risk of diagnostic errors, simultaneous analysis for IgM and IgG is indicated.

Antibodies to mycoplasma pneumonia igM

To confirm acute mycoplasma damage to the respiratory system, patients are prescribed an enzyme immunoassay. Antibodies to mycoplasma pneumonia IgM make it possible to differentiate atypical inflammation from other pathologies of the respiratory tract, for example, an infectious process caused by streptococci or staphylococci.

The following symptoms are the reason for laboratory testing:

• Unproductive cough for a long period of time.
• Severe pain in the throat and chest.
• Muscle pain.
• Deterioration in general health.

The positivity rate, indicating infection, is: 0-0.84. A negative result is possible not only in the absence of the disease, but also in case of chronic mycoplasma infection, early infection when the body has not yet developed an immune response. It should also be taken into account that IgM is usually not released upon reinitiation.

Cold antibodies for mycoplasma pneumonia

Antibodies that cause red blood cell aggregation when exposed to low temperatures These are cold antibodies. With mycoplasma pneumonia, they most often belong to the IgM class. Normally, they can be found in healthy people, but increase significantly 7-10 days after the onset of the disease. Cold exposure causes acute transient hemolytic anemia. A persistent increase in agglutinin titer leads to the development of a chronic form of the pathology.

There are several types of cold agglutinins:

• The disease is caused by primary intravascular hemodialysis with monoclonal antibodies to the I antigen of erythrocytes. In this case, cold antibodies are formed during lymphoproliferative disorders.
• The painful condition is caused by secondary intravascular hemolysis. It is characterized by polyclonal antibodies in low titer and active in a narrow temperature range. It appears in various infections. For example, with mycoplasma pneumonia, cold agglutinins to the I-antigen of erythrocytes appear.

Cold antibodies in atypical pneumonia can be a mixture of various immunoglobulins. Activation of agglutinins begins already at 37 °C and causes the following pathological reactions: acrocyanosis and hemolysis due to activation of complement.

Instrumental diagnostics

To determine the localization of the inflammatory focus in the lungs, its size and other features, it is indicated instrumental diagnostics. The research complex consists of the following procedures:

• Radiography.
• Fiberglass bronchoscopy.
• Function of external respiration.
• Electrocardiography.

The main diagnostic method is radiography. It allows you to identify foci of inflammation, which appear darker in the image than the rest of the lung. There is also a change in the pulmonary pattern and proliferation of connective tissue. With pneumonia, changes in the pulmonary roots, damage to the pleura, and even the presence of an abscess in the organ are possible. X-rays are performed in two projections – frontal and lateral.

Tomography gives the same result as an x-ray, so it is rarely performed if atypical pneumonia is suspected. It is also rarely carried out ultrasound diagnostics, since it only detects exudate in the lungs, which is also visible on x-ray. As for bronchoscopy, it is necessary to obtain more accurate research results.

Differential diagnosis

For successful treatment Any disease requires a comprehensive examination. Differential diagnosis of atypical pneumonia is aimed at excluding pathologies with similar symptoms. This allows you to establish an accurate diagnosis and prescribe therapy.

Differentiation is carried out in several stages:

1. Collection of primary data and generation of a list of possible diseases.
2. Study of symptoms, changes in the dynamics of well-being and other factors of the disease.
3. Comparative analysis obtained data, assessment of similar and different values.
4. Identification of third-party symptoms that are not related to the suspected pathology.
5. Elimination of diseases clinical signs which are not included in the overall picture.
6. Making a final diagnosis and drawing up a treatment plan.

The data collected and analyzed during the diagnostic process provide a reliable picture of the disease state. Differentiation of atypical pneumonia is carried out with the most common harmful microorganisms:

• Mycoplasma – acute onset, catarrh of the upper respiratory tract, cough with poorly discharged sputum. As a rule, it develops in young patients.
• Pneumococci - acute onset of the disease, severe fever, severe course but good answer antibacterial drugs penicillin series.
• Staphylococci - acute onset and severe course, limited infiltrates, resistance to penicillins.
• Haemophilus influenzae - severe course, extensive infiltrates, thick sputum mixed with blood, abscess formation. Most often occurs in patients with chronic bronchopulmonary pathologies and alcoholism.
• Legionellosis – severe course, diarrhea and liver dysfunction, neurological disorders. The disease affects people who long time located in air-conditioned rooms
• Aspiration – putrefactive sputum, multiple and confluent foci of inflammation, reflex cough and increased salivation.
• Pneumocystis - increasing shortness of breath with frequent coughing attacks. Severe symptoms with mild radiographic signs.
• Fungi - rapid development of a feverish state, cough with poor sputum discharge, severe fever, chest pain.

Most pathogens have a similar symptom complex, so considerable attention is paid to bacterial culture. Atypical pneumonia is differentiated from other diseases. During the examination, the doctor determines extrapulmonary pathologies with signs from the respiratory system and limits pulmonary inflammation from other possible violations from the respiratory system:

1. Tuberculosis is most often mistaken for pneumonia. Presents with a dry cough, low-grade fever and pallor skin. If positive tuberculin tests are detected, the diagnosis becomes more complicated. The main differences from pneumonia: heterogeneous and compacted shadows, areas of clearing are similar to seeded foci. There is a massive proliferation of mycobacteria in the sputum. Leukocytes are elevated in the blood.
2. Bronchitis - occurs after ARVI or against their background. On early stages accompanied by a dry cough, which gradually turns into a productive cough. Fever lasts 2-3 days, and then remains within subfebrile limits. There is no infiltration, the pulmonary pattern is enhanced. Very often, pneumonia is diagnosed as an exacerbation of bronchitis.
3. Influenza - during the epidemiological period it is very difficult to distinguish between pulmonary inflammation and influenza infection. The features of the clinical picture of the disease are taken into account.
4. Pleurisy is an inflammatory pathology in the respiratory system, similar to pleural changes. Leaks from painful sensations in the chest and during coughing. Main diagnostic sign pleurisy - wheezing, that is, the sounds of pleural friction during breathing. Special attention is given to the results of biochemical analysis.
5. Atelectasis is a pulmonary pathology with tissue collapse and impaired gas exchange. Its symptoms resemble pneumonia: respiratory failure, shortness of breath, cyanosis of the skin. Chest pain with this disease is caused by impaired gas exchange. An infection gradually develops in the collapsed area of ​​the organ. Atelectasis is associated with injuries, blockage and compression of the lungs, and destructive tissue changes.
6. Oncological processes - the initial stages of the disease do not differ from atypical pneumonia. Differentiation is based on a comprehensive diagnostic approach with careful examination of the signs of cancer.
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Chlamydia pneumoniae is an infection that spreads by droplets and is one of the most common causes of inflammation of the upper and lower respiratory tract in children and adults.

General information

Chlamydia pneumonia is common cause lower respiratory tract infections, including inflammation of the bronchi and lungs in children and adults.

Chlamydia pneumoniae is a gram-negative intracellular bacteria that causes infections only in humans. These microorganisms, after entering the body, attach to the host cells, then penetrate them and multiply, and then spread through the blood. Distinctive feature Ch. pneumoniae is able to reproduce in various types cells. Chlamydia pneumonia is extremely difficult to diagnose because its symptoms resemble a common cold or pharyngitis. The child is bothered by a dry, paroxysmal cough and frequently recurring inflammation of the pharynx or larynx. Characteristics of this type of infection are inflammation of the ear, paranasal sinuses, bronchi, lungs and tonsils. All these symptoms may be accompanied by a slight fever or high temperature.

Diagnosing chlamydia pneumonia for pediatricians is a complex process. Most often, a smear from the upper respiratory tract is examined. It is necessary to perform a blood test for IgM antibodies and IgG.
Treatment of chlamydial infection in children consists of antibiotic therapy. In order to effectively get rid of bacteria, it is recommended to use drugs from the group of macrolides and quinolones, and possibly tetracyclines. General course treatment lasts no longer than 2 weeks, and after it it seems necessary to repeat the studies to check the effectiveness of therapy.

It should be noted that if left untreated, long-term chlamydia can cause bronchial asthma, which is why its timely and complete cure is so important.

Bacteria provocateurs

Pneumonia caused by atypical microorganisms, despite progress in medicine, is still an important problem in diagnosis and therapy. Ch. pneumoniae is the second most common, after Mycoplasma pneumoniae, etiological factor atypical pneumonia in children.

The history of the discovery and understanding of the role of pathogens Ch. pneumoniae has occurred in the last 40 years. Chlamydia pneumoniae was named Chlamydophila in 1999. This is a group of gram-negative bacteria that are characterized by a limited capacity for acidosis, since they are not able to synthesize ATP and therefore require an intracellular environment for their reproduction and development. Infection occurs by droplets directly from person to person. Chlamydia exhibit specific tropism and cytotoxic activity towards epithelial cells of the respiratory tract, in which they multiply and destroy infected cells by lysis. Inflammations caused by Ch. pneumoniae may be asymptomatic in up to 80% of cases or as a symptomatic upper or lower respiratory tract infection. Most often found in children between 5 and 14 years of age.

Progress of the disease

Clinical picture Chlamydial pneumonia is similar to other atypical pneumonia. Chlamydial pneumonia can affect all year round, but most often in the autumn-winter period. The period of development of the disease is usually 1-2 weeks. First, general symptoms appear, such as:

• feeling unwell;
• pain in the head and muscles;
• increase in body temperature up to 38°C;
• sore throat;
• hoarseness of voice;
• constant dry cough.

Chronic cough dominates, especially in children aged 0-4 years. In the group of older children, inflammation of the pharynx is more common, palatine tonsils, sinuses and purulent otitis.

The etiology of chlamydial pneumonia may be indicated by the epidemic or familial nature of the disease and general condition child. Severe pneumonia, complications such as circulatory failure and septicemia are observed in infants and children with immune deficiencies.

At medical examination in stage 1 of the disease we can conclude that there is hyperemia back wall pharynx, slight enlargement and soreness of the cervical lymph nodes. Changes in the lower respiratory tract are rarely detected. In more late period There is an acceleration of breathing and moist rales, interstitium or wheezing.

IN laboratory research a large number of whites are often found blood cells with a predominance of neutrophilic granulocytes (in 60-80% of patients). Sometimes there may be leukopenia or slight leukocytosis, accelerated erythrocyte sedimentation.

On an x-ray you can see inflammatory changes in the bronchi and lungs, mottled, irregular inflammatory infiltrates or compactions. These changes usually occur unilaterally, in the lower pulmonary fields, and are limited to one lobe. A large number of inflammatory infiltrates in the pulmonary parenchyma and enlargement of nearby lymph nodes are often associated with Ch. pneumoniae with concomitant infection with Mycoplasma pneumoniae or Streptococcus pneumoniae.

Diagnostics and therapeutic therapy

In the diagnosis of chlamydial pneumonia, serological tests are used, which make it possible to determine specific antibodies against Ch. in the patient’s serum. pneumoniae Due to the detection of IgG antibodies in a significant proportion of healthy individuals, titers above 1:512 (or a 4-fold increase in titer in the following notations) are considered diagnostic indications. IgG antibodies appear quite late, 6-8 weeks after the onset of infection. Earlier, 3 weeks after infection, it is possible to demonstrate the presence of specific IgM, the titer of which is higher than 1:16, which indicates the disease. Detection of genetic material is carried out using PCR method. This is the fastest, very sensitive and unique method for diagnosing chlamydia, but also with limited availability due to high cost.

Treatment of pneumonia caused by Ch. pneumonia, is based on empirical selection of antibiotics.

The drugs used in treatment are macrolides, which should be used in cases of pneumonia in children and adults. Newer generation antibiotics such as Clarithromycin and Azithromycin are preferred due to fewer side effects. Therapy should last at least 14 days. Tetracyclines (Doxycycline) may be used in older children and adults. In adults with severe disease, quinolones are used.

Pneumonia usually goes away within 2 weeks, but cough or bronchitis can persist for a long time, up to several months.

Only a small percentage of children with chlamydial pneumonia require hospitalization. Pulmonary complications, as a rule, are rare and occur mainly with impaired immunity. However, there are cases with a severe course, with complications from other organs and systems.

For long-term inflammation of the respiratory system in children school age with a persistent cough or fever, the child should be checked for infection with atypical microbes, including Ch. pneumoniae If atypical pneumonia is suspected, treatment with a macrolide antibiotic should be used.

Treatment of atypical pneumonia in children should last a long time (2-3 weeks), since shorter treatment periods can lead to relapse of the disease and/or complications. Therefore, if your child's symptoms persist despite antibiotic treatment, you should consult your pediatrician, as SARS in children can be very dangerous to health.

Pneumonia - serious illness, which is fatal in 9 percent of cases. From illness in to a greater extent children and the elderly suffer. The former have not yet developed immunity against infections, the latter have lost “faith in their strength”: their immunity is not so efficient.

In both groups, the disease begins as ARVI and develops according to the same scenario: ARVI-bronchitis-pneumonia. As a rule, bacteria are considered the causative agents of this disease. But there are exceptions to the general clinical picture.

Back in the 30s of the 20th century, the term atypical pneumonia appeared. This insidious disease is initiated by uncharacteristic pathogens, that is, viruses, mycoplasmas, etc. The latter microbes are the most dangerous for the body.

If chlamydia pneumonia begins, symptoms and treatment are required on a strictly individual basis, different from other cases of infection with a similar disease. In addition, the infection easily “strikes” relatively healthy organisms up to 40 years old.

Attention! Men of all ages are more susceptible to chlamydial infection.

Statistics indicate that the percentage of those who have recovered is 90% of all former patients.

Doctors say that the reason for this is the habit of smoking, which is more common among men.

The danger of the disease lies in the fact that it is difficult to diagnose.

Blood tests in case of bacterial and viral infection differ radically.

The severity of the disease varies from asymptomatic infection to severe disease.

In addition, someone who has had an infection once runs the risk of repeating a similar “ sad experience" Reinfection is more likely in older patients.

Attention! The atypical form of the disease is a difficult diagnosis to recognize. The disease can be perceived as otitis media, laryngitis, pharyngitis, bronchitis, etc. At the same time, microbes - chlamydia - accumulate and multiply in the body, affecting all organs.

As a consequence - infection after accurate diagnosis very treatable long period time.

What is chlamydia

When we're talking about about Chlamydia pneumonia, what it is should be understood in order to make an accurate diagnosis.

An incomplete list of those parts of the human body that are indirectly and directly affected by the active life activity of chlamydia:

Attention! Symptoms can appear both collectively and individually.

Chlamydial pneumonia is accompanied by joint pain and neurological disorders. Tapping in the sinus area causes painful sensations. The temperature rises to about 38 degrees on the 7th day after the onset of the disease.

Consequences of the disease

The consequences that chlamydia pneumonia can lead to are truly terrible. Rarely does a patient know what it is.

At first the disease goes unnoticed ( low-grade fever). The incubation period lasts from 1 to 4 weeks.

A characteristic sign of the disease is hoarseness of voice. Therefore, the disease is only “given away” by wheezing from the chest.

In the first period of the disease they are dry, after which they become moist.

With a cough that has paroxysmal periodicity, mucopurulent sputum is released.

When chlamydial pneumonia begins, symptoms are expressed strictly individually. Among them are:

• Loss of appetite;
• Shortness of breath, cough and weakness;
• The wheezing is dry and finely bubbled, which is observed in the lower part of the upper respiratory tract;
• The appearance of conjunctivitis;
• At 3 weeks after the onset of infection, rhinitis, laryngitis and other diseases develop.

Complications of the disease are fraught. Late diagnosis and chronic nature of the disease leads to the fact that the patient practically does not get out of bed.

If pneumococci are added to chlamydia, the patient is immediately hospitalized. To cure such a mixed infection, long-term antibiotic therapy is required.

As for newborns, then Not a single fragile baby can survive such a course of the disease..

Attention! Chlamydiapneumonia causes not only pneumonia in children and adults, but also a number of diseases accompanying the underlying disease. Currently, the question of the influence of infection on the occurrence of bronchial asthma and other autoimmune diagnoses.

How the infection is transmitted

When chlamydia pneumonia is determined, treatment is prescribed on an outpatient basis or in a closed hospital.

The point is that the infection is spread by airborne droplets.

This is its main difference from the other two types of chlamydial infection: Chlamydophila trachomatis and Chlamydo philapsittaci.

The first disease is transmitted due to infections, which can persist on clothing and bedding for 5 days.

The second infection is transmitted from person to person “thanks to” air fumes from the excrement of infected birds.

Who is particularly vulnerable to this insidious disease?

Chlamydial pneumonia is scary because the disease poses a threat to life and health.

A visually healthy mother may represent one of the carriers of chlamydia.

Their strains penetrate the body of a healthy pregnant woman with basic non-compliance with simple hygiene rules and with promiscuous sexual intercourse:

• At the level of sexual contacts;
• Through clothes household items infected people, on which microbes retain their properties for 5-6 days.

When a mother develops chlamydial pneumonia, treatment often cannot be used for objective reasons, so as not to further harm the fetus.

As a result, the child appears “in the new world” already infected with strains of chlamydia.

In some situations, infection occurs in the first minutes of a child's life. This happens for the following reasons:

• The baby "swallowed" amniotic fluid(respectively, in which chlamydia strains are present);
• Infection occurred during childbirth, through the mother's mucous membranes.

Other “defenseless” patients are children and adolescents under 15 years old who attend sections, schools and kindergartens. They become infected through the air during communication.

As for adults, those who cannot “boast” of strong immunity are susceptible to the disease. Those at risk are people who have already been ill, men with a weakened immune system.

Diagnostic methods

One reliable method is serotyping. This is a blood test for chlamydia pneumonia.

When serotyping, the number of antibodies to pathogens of this type of disease is taken into account: IgG, IgA And IgM.

The first are detected only in the third week after the onset of infection. Their progressive growth indicates the active stage of the disease.

Subsequently, the antibodies remain in the body, also after treatment. The analysis takes into account everything: the combination of antibodies, the increase in indicators, the dynamics of growth and decline.

To understand the process of development of chlamydia pneumonia, igg, what it is to understand and calculate, you need to consult with doctors.

Opponents of chlamydia - antibodies - have borderline values ​​equal to 1:1000 . If these indicators are lower, then a repeat examination should be organized after two weeks.

The attending physician should interpret the meaning of the indicators. He can easily determine remission, crisis or slow recovery.

A throat swab helps determine whether there is pneumonia or not. After all, the disease is characterized by the creation of so-called infiltrates in the lungs.

They are nothing more than mucus that does not cough up. At the same time, microbes and individual strains come out when the patient comes into contact with healthy people.

From a throat swab it is possible to isolate cellular structure. Just implement this procedure possible in laboratory conditions.

A simpler and more economical way is DNA determination. Well-organized PCR helps to find the causative agent of the disease in the patient’s sputum. Fast and efficient!

Conclusion

The disease is difficult to diagnose, but it must be done in order to choose the right therapy.

When chlamydia pneumonia is predicted, igg positive result indicates that the body is beginning to resist infection through the formation of antibodies.

The next task of the therapist is to ensure that expectorants and antibiotics of a certain type are taken. And the patient will be well in a few weeks!

Anti-Chlamydophila pneumonia-IgG

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Completion date: 6 working days

+ Collection of material 200 rub.

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Description Preparation Indications Interpretation of results

Chlamydia pneumoniae is a bacterium that exists inside cells due to the fact that it cannot independently synthesize energy resources for its vital functions. Chlamydia pneumonia primarily affects the upper respiratory tract and causes bronchitis, otitis, pharyngitis, laryngitis, and sinusitis. In young people (including children) it can cause pneumonia. In older people it causes recurrent pathology of the respiratory system. The role of Chlamydia pneumoniae in the development of certain autoimmune diseases, as well as participation in the pathogenesis of bronchial asthma and atherosclerosis. Infectious agent It is transmitted from person to person mainly by airborne droplets. Usually, this happens in crowded groups.

The clinical picture is often asymptomatic, and the incubation period is quite difficult to determine. The disease can manifest itself many days after infection with chlamydia pneumonia. Often the microorganism persists in the respiratory system.

Pneumonia caused by chlamydia pneumonia does not cause a typical picture - specific clinical manifestations are missing. In this case, pneumonia begins gradually with an inflammatory process of the upper respiratory tract, an increase in fever and a dry cough. On a radiograph in such patients, segmental infiltrates can be detected, in general analysis blood may not show an increase in leukocytes. The clinical picture in older people can be very severe, requiring urgent hospitalization in a hospital.

This microorganism is difficult to isolate by culture, so the most effective methods diagnostics are PCR and determination of antibodies to chlamydia pneumonia IgG, IgM, IgA. The incubation period for this pathogen is long – usually several weeks. IgM appears 3 weeks after infection and decreases within two months. IgA and IgG to chlamydia pneumonia begin to be detected 6-8 weeks after the onset of the disease, while titers quickly increase and reach high levels. IgA soon ceases to be detected in the blood serum. IgG to chlamydia pneumonia can be detected within 3 years after infection; stable immunity to the pathogen does not arise, so repeated cases of the disease may occur.

The current disease (or a recent one) is indicated by an increase in the titer of IgG antibodies to chlamydia pneumonia by 3-4 times in paired sera over 1-2 weeks. Long-term persistence of high titers may be a sign chronic infection. To diagnose a respiratory infection caused by chlamydia, it is necessary, in addition to testing for IgG antibodies for chlamydia pneumonia, take other serological tests and PCR analysis.

In order to take the test for IgG antibodies to chlamydia pneumonia, no special preparation is required. Blood sampling should be done four hours after the last meal.

You should be tested for IgG antibodies to chlamydia pneumonia in the following cases:

• If an infectious process caused by Chlamydia pneumoniae is suspected (in the presence of prolonged cough, pharyngitis, bronchitis, pneumonia, sinusitis, otitis media)
• For epidemiological research

Results of the IgG test for chlamydia pneumonia:

• “Negative” means no infection with this pathogen, or means an early period of infection.
• “Doubtful” - the result cannot be reliably attributed (with a high degree of probability - 95%) to the results of “negative” or “positive”. This option is possible at the beginning of the disease, when the level of IgG to chlamydia pneumonia is too low. In this case, it is recommended to re-test IgG to chlamydia pneumonia after 10-14 days and evaluate the dynamics.
• "Positive" - ​​current or previous infection Chlamydia pneumoniae.