Objective: To assess the prevalence of Chlamydia pneumomia DNA in patients with otolaryngic disease.
Methods: PCR assay was used to detect Chlamydia pneumonia specific Pst I 474 fragment DNA in swabs from patients with acute or subacute pharyngolaryngitis or rhinitis and sinusitis. C. pneumonia specific antibodies in sera were also assayed with microimmuno-fluoresence (MIF).
Results: About 28% (49/175) of the patients were PCR positive and 25.7% (45/175) were MIF antibodies positive. The accordance rate of the two methods was 91.8%.
Conclusion: It is suggested that the C. pneumonia infection was common in this group of patients and the C. pneumonia Pst I 474 specific PCR was sensitive and specific for detecting C. pneumonia in pharyngolaryngitis or rhinitis and sinusitis.