Chlamydia psittaci Pneumonia-Induced Pulmonary Thrombosis: A Case Report

Changquan Fang,1 Limin Xu2 1Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Huizhou Central People’s Hospital, Huizhou, Guangdong Province, Peoples’ Republic of China; 2Department of Geriatrics, Huizhou First People’s Hospital, Huizhou, Guangdong Province, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Limin Xu, Department of Geriatrics, Huizhou First People’s Hospital, No. 20 Sanxin South Road, Huicheng District, Huizhou City, Guangdong Province, 516000, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 136-3199-9563, Email 837899883@qq.comAbstract: 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