Chlamydia trachomatis is the bacteria responsible for the most prevalent sexually transmitted disease worldwide. Most of the infections in men and women is asymptomatic and when undiagnosed and untreated may reach the joints causing not only arthritis, but also other acknowledged complications related to the female reproductive system. OBJECTIVE: To investigate C. trachomatis DNA in the urine and synovial fluid from patients with spondyloarthropathies (SpA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and evaluate serum anti-C. trachomatis IgG and IgM antibodies. METHODS: The population consisted of 15 patients with spondyloarthropathies, being 9 with undifferentiated spondyloarthropathy (US) and 6 with reactive arthritis (ReA) (group I), and 15 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) (group II). The chlamydial DNA was assessed in synovial fluid and urine samples of all patients by Amplicor (Roche, Swiss) PCR. The anti-chlamydial IgG and IgM antibodies were quantified through indirect imunofluorescence (IIF), while 15 patients of group I were typed for HLA-B27 by the use of flow citometry. Sociodemographical data and all information on sexual behaviour and presence of symptoms were collected through a (questionnaire in the form of) an interview. RESULTS: C. trachomatis DNA was found in only one synovial fluid sample from patient with ReA (6,7%). In two patients with RA, chlamydial DNA was identified in the urine sample (13,3%). The anti-chlamydial IgG antibodies were present in eight patients of the population studied; being three patients from group I (20%), and five from group II (33,3%). The greatest titer of this antibody 1/256 was associated with the presence of chlamydial DNA in a patient from group II. The IgM antibody was not detected in any of the samples from both groups. Four individuals from group II (26,7%) were HLA-B27 positive and its presence was related to sacroiliitis. CONCLUSIONS: The results in this study show that in patients with spondyloarthropathies and rheumatoid arthritis, presenting a picture of articular activity, one might not exclude C. trachomatis as the triggering agent
Chlamydia trachomatis; PCR; spondyloarthropathies; rheumatoid arthritis
