Acute Chlamydia trachomatis respiratory infection in infants.

OBJECTIVES: This designed was designed to estimate the prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis infection in infants of up to 6 months of age and to assess clinical and laboratory indicators as predictors of Chlamydia etiology.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A hospital-based study was conducted in Department of Pediatrics, Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College, Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, India, where infants up to 6 months of age (n=50) with features of lower respiratory tract infection of at least 1 week duration and fulfilling the inclusion criteria were assessed clinically and underwent laboratory investigations using hemogram, Chest X-ray, and IgM ELISA.

RESULTS: Out of 50 infants, 12 (24%) were tested positive by IgM ELISA test for C. trachomatis infection. In age group of up to 2 months 25% positivity was seen whereas it was found to be 31.81% in age group of 2-4 months and 15% in age group 4-6 months. With the 'P' value less than 0.05, it was found that there may be an association of seropositivity of C. trachomatis with duration of cough and absolute eosinophil count.

CONCLUSION: Chlamydia trachomatis is an important cause of lower respiratory tract infection in infants below six months of age. The prolonged duration of cough and increased absolute eosinophil count may be good indicator of its etiology.