Prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis in adults with chronic conjunctivitis in Nisava district

Abstract

Introduction. Chlamydia trachomatis causes many infections, including eye infections. They manifest as inclusion conjunctivitis and trachoma. The agent is transmitted by dirty hands, eyeliners, medical instruments and via swimming-pool water or, in neonates, by passage through an infected birth canal. Due to the nonspecific clinical features at the beginning of the infection and delayed application of symptomatic, anti-allergic and non-specific antibiotic therapy, Chlamydia aetiology is usually established only after laboratory diagnosis in the chronic stage of infection. Objective. Determining the frequency of Chlamydia trachomatis antigen in conjunctival and genital samples of adult patients with chronic conjunctivitis in Nisava district. Methods. Our retrospective study was carried out on 116 patients (63 female and 53 male) with clinical signs and symptoms of chronic conjunctivitis. Chlamydia trachomatis antigen was detected by a direct immunofluorescence test with labelled monoclonal antibodies. Results. From a total of 116 examined patients in 37 patients Chlamydia trachomatis antigen was detected; 17 female and 20 male. Thirty-three of the patients had a bilateral infection and four unilateral. Among 24 patients who were also tested for Chlamydia trachomatis antigen collected by ocular and genital swabs, 19 had conjunctivitis associated with urethritis/vaginitis. Conclusion. The studied group of patients showed that the common cause of the chronic conjunctivitis were bacteria, but predominantly Chlamydia trachomatis. In most cases Chlamydia infection occurred bilaterally. The majority of patients had eye Chlamydia infection associated with genital Chlamydia infection. There was no statistically significant difference in the presence of the disease regarding gender.Uvod. Medju oboljenjima koje izaziva bakterija Chlamydia trachomatis ubrajaju se i infekcije oka. One se ispoljavaju kao inkluzioni konjunktivitis i trahom. Uzrocnik se prenosi prljavim rukama, kozmetickim priborom za oci, medicinskim instrumentima i kupanjem u bazenu, a kod novorodjencadi prolaskom kroz inficirani porodjajni kanal. Zbog nespecificne klinicke slike na pocetku infekcije, vremena koje se utrosi na simptomatsku, antialergijsku i nespecificnu antibiotsku terapiju, bolesnici dolaze na ciljnu laboratorijsku dijagnostiku u stadijumu hronicne konjunktivalne infekcije. Cilj rada. Cilj rada bio je da se utvrdi ucestalost otkrivanja antigena Chlamydia trachomatis kod odraslih osoba Niskog regiona s klinickom slikom hronicnog konjunktivitisa u konjunktivalnom i genitalnom uzorku epitelnih celija. Metode rada. Retrospektivna studija je obuhvatila 116 bolesnika (63 zene i 53 muskarca) s klinickom slikom hronicnog konjunktivitisa. Testom direktne imunofluorescencije s monoklonskim antitelima dokazivan je antigen Chlamydia trachomatis. Rezultati. Antigen Chlamydia trachomatis je dokazan kod 37 ispitanika (17 zena i 20 muskaraca). Kod 33 bolesnika infekcija se ispoljila na oba oka, a kod cetiri na jednom oku. Od 24 bolesnika kod kojih je istovremeno ispitivano postojanje antigena Chlamydia trachomatis u ocima i genitalnom traktu, kod 19 je ustanovljena udruzena infekcija. Zakljucak. Bakterije su bile znacajni uzrocnici hronicnog konjunktivitisa kod ispitivanih bolesnika, a najcesca je bila Chlamydia trachomatis. Infekcija oka ovim mikroorganizmom cesce se javljala bilateralno. Kod vecine ispitanika dijagnostikovana je udruzena ocna i genitalna infekcija hlamidijom. Nije utvrdjena statisticki znacajna razlika u obolevanju u odnosu na pol.