Case Report
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Oct 16, 2023; 11(29): 7144-7149
Published online Oct 16, 2023. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v11.i29.7144
Co-infection of Chlamydia psittaci and Tropheryma whipplei: A case report
Zhu-Man Du, Pei Chen
Zhu-Man Du, Pei Chen, Respiratory and Critical Care Discipline, Clinical Medicine College, Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu University, Chengdu 610000, Sichuan Province, China
Author contributions: Du ZM contributed to manuscript writing and editing, and data collection; Cheng P contributed to conceptualization and supervision; all authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Informed consent statement: Informed written consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this report and any accompanying images.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest to disclose.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Pei Chen, MBChB, Associate Professor, Respiratory and Critical Care Discipline, Clinical Medicine College, Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu University, No. 82 North Section 2, Second Ring Road, Chengdu 610000, Sichuan Province, China. 1552156159@qq.com
Received: June 19, 2023
Peer-review started: June 19, 2023
First decision: August 4, 2023
Revised: August 15, 2023
Accepted: September 25, 2023
Article in press: September 25, 2023
Published online: October 16, 2023
Processing time: 116 Days and 3.4 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

The co-infection of Chlamydia psittaci (C. psittaci) and Tropheryma whipplei (T. whipplei) is unusual, and the detection of pathogenic microorganisms is particularly important for patients with severe diseases or poor experience in treatment. Early identification of pathogens can significantly improve the prognosis of the patients. Targeted next-generation sequencing (tNGS) is currently widely used in clinical practice for various infectious diseases, including respiratory infections, to achieve early, accurate, and rapid microbial diagnosis.

CASE SUMMARY

We report a case of a 40-year-old female patient with a history of contact with parrots who was diagnosed with C. psittaci and T. whipplei infection through bronchial lavage fluid targeted next generation sequencing. After moxifloxacin treatment, the patient's symptoms improved significantly, and the imaging changes were obviously resolved.

CONCLUSION

Coinfection with C. psittaci and T. whipplei is not common. In this case, timely and accurate identification of both pathogens was achieved using tNGS. Moreover, the efficacy of monotherapy with moxifloxacin was confirmed.

Keywords: Infectious diseases; Chlamydia psittaci; Tropheryma whipplei; Targeted next generation sequencing; Case report

Core Tip: The co-infection of Chlamydia psittaci and Tropheryma whipplei is not common. Due to its ability to cause severe infections, timely and reliable diagnosis is crucial for improving prognosis. In recent years, the development of targeted next-generation sequencing has made the diagnosis of pathogenic microorganisms more economical and efficient.