Vol.99 No.2 contentsPRACTICA OTO-RHINO-LARYNGOLOGICA
Vol. 99 No. 2 February 2006
A Case of Chlamydia Trachomatis Pharyngitis and Conjunctivitis
Associated with Otitis Media with Effusion
Teruo Shiomori
(University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Chikuho Rosai Hospital)
Koichi Hashida, Nobusuke Hohchi, Takeyuki Fujimura,
Tsuyoshi Udaka and Hideaki Suzuki
(University of Occupational and Environmental Health)
Tsuyoshi Shiraishi
(Chikuho Rosai Hospital)
Chlamydia trachomatis (C. trachomatis) infection is the commonest sexually transmitted disease that mostly occurs in the urogenital region. We herein report a case of pharyngitis and conjunctivitis caused by C. trachomatis associated with otitis media with effusion (OME). A 19-year-old lady presented with a 2-month history of earache, foreign body sensation of the throat and eye itching with discharge followed by bilateral hearing loss. On otolaryngological examinations, pharyngitis, OME and hypertrophic adenoid were pointed out. On ophthalmological examinations Chlamydia conjunctivitis was highly suspected. Serological tests showed raised levels of anti-C. trachomatis antibodies, and C. trachomatis was detected in the eye discharge and pharyngeal mucus by a DNA probe method. Pharyngitis and conjunctivitis ameliorated after the administration of oral antibiotics (clarithromycin), eye drops (levofloxacin) and oculentum (oxytetracycline). However, OME and hypertrophic adenoid persisted, and therefore, the patient eventually underwent tympanostomy tube insertion and adenotomy. C. trachomatis was detected in the resected adenoid tissue as well by a DNA probe method. Her postoperative clinical course was uneventful, and C. trachomatis detection by PCR was negative both in the tears and pharyngeal mucus. The diagnosis and treatment of Chlamydia infection in the head and neck were reviewed from the literature.
Key words :Chlamydia
trachomatis, pharyngitis, conjunctivitis, otitis media with effusion