Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
10
pubmed:dateCreated
1994-3-11
pubmed:abstractText
A complement fixation (CF) test, a micro-immunofluorescence (micro-IF) test and an enzyme immunoassay (EIA) using Re-lipopolysaccharide as antigen were compared in the diagnosis of chlamydial infection in 136 mainly elderly patients hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia during a Chlamydia pneumoniae epidemic in Finland in 1986-1987. Chlamydial pneumonia was diagnosed in 58 (42.6%) of the 136 pneumonia patients; 44 (75.9%) of them could be shown by micro-IF to be caused by Chlamydia pneumoniae, three by Chlamydia psittaci and four by Chlamydia spp. Only 5 (11.4%) of 44 patients with Chlamydia pneumoniae pneumonia were IgM-positive, indicating that the majority of cases were reinfections. In this population of mainly elderly patients the CF test was insensitive, being positive in only 6 (10.3%) of 58 cases of chlamydial pneumonia. The EIA detected 72.4% of cases and micro-IF 87.9% of cases (including infections with Chlamydia pneumoniae, Chlamydia psittaci and Chlamydia spp.). In the EIA 77% of positive cases were positive in serum samples taken a week apart, whereas the corresponding figure for micro-IF was 50%. In micro-IF the measurement of IgA antibody levels is recommended and IgM-positive sera should be retested after removal of IgG antibody to avoid false-positive findings due to presence of rheumatoid factor. The collection of a third serum sample, for instance one month after onset, is also recommended, since half of the patients showed a diagnostic response in the micro-IF only in the sera taken one month apart.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Oct
pubmed:issn
0934-9723
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
12
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
756-60
pubmed:dateRevised
2004-11-17
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
1993
pubmed:articleTitle
Evaluation of serological methods in the diagnosis of Chlamydia pneumoniae pneumonia during an epidemic in Finland.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Virology, University of Helsinki, Finland.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article