Clinical characteristics of 14 cases of Chlamydia psittaci pneumonia

Among 14 patients with C. psittaci pneumonia, there were 9 critical and 5 non-critical cases. Ten patients improved clinically and were discharged to home; however, four patients died. Seven patients had a history of contact with birds or poultry. All 14 patients had a high fever as the presenting symptom, but most had a normal white blood cell count. Most of the patients had a significant increase in high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and procalcitonin levels. The lymphocyte count in the critical group was considerably lower than in the non-critical group. Patients in the critical group were more advanced in age than in the non-critical group. In addition, serum urea nitrogen, creatinine, procalcitonin, and lactate dehydrogenase levels were significantly higher in the critical group than in the non-critical group (P<0.05). The 4 patients who died had significantly increased procalcitonin levels compared to the 10 patients who survived (P<0.05). In summary, a high fever is usually the presenting complaint of patients with C. psittaci pneumonia. Such patients often progress to severe disease; however, early diagnostic confirmation by mNGS and appropriate treatment dramatically improve the prognosis. Age, lymphocyte count, procalcitonin, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, and lactate dehydrogenase levels were shown to predict disease severity.