Chlamydia psittaci Pneumonia-Induced Pulmonary Thrombosis: A Case Report

Abstract

Chlamydia psittaci pneumonia frequently leads to various extrapulmonary complications; however, reports of C. psittaci-pneumonia complicated by pulmonary thrombosis are uncommon. We report a case of severe C. psittaci pneumonia in a patient with a history of poultry contact and clinical manifestations including hyperpyrexia, dyspnea, and respiratory failure, which necessitated tracheal intubation for assisted ventilation. C. psittaci in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid was detected with metagenomic next-generation sequencing. Following targeted antibiotic therapy, the fever subsided, although dyspnea persisted without significant improvement, and chest pain developed. Compared to previous measurements, the D-dimer level increased, and CT pulmonary angiography revealed thromboses in the pulmonary artery trunk and left pulmonary artery. The symptoms improved after anticoagulant treatment, and the patient was discharged subsequently. This study suggests that C. psittaci infection may be associated with the formation of pulmonary thrombosis. Additional clinical data are required to support this inference. Following targeted antibiotic therapy, if persistent dyspnea, chest pain, and increased D-dimer level are present, pulmonary thrombosis should be considered, and pulmonary artery angiography can confirm the diagnosis.

Keywords:

• Chlamydia psittaci
• pneumonia
• pulmonary thrombosis
• metagenomic next-generation sequencing

Ethics Approval and Informed Consent

The Ethics Committees of Huizhou Central People’s Hospital (LLBA201946A) approved this study. A signed consent statement was obtained from the patient for the publication of their case details.

Consent for Publication

Signed consent was obtained for the publication of the case details from the participant.

Author Contributions

All authors made a substantial contribution to the work reported, including study conception, design, and execution; data acquisition, analysis, and interpretation. All authors were involved in drafting, revising, or critically reviewing the article. All authors provided the final approval of the version to be published in the journal and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work. All authors have read and approved the manuscript.

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the Science and Technology Special Project of Huizhou (Grant no. 2020Y105).