Role of Chlamydia trachomatis in Miscarriage

• Main Authors: David Baud, Genevieve Goy, Katia Jaton, Maria-Chiara Osterheld, Serafin Blumer, Nicole Borel, Yvan Vial, Patrick Hohlfeld, Andreas Pospischil, Gilbert Greub
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2011-09-01
• Series: Emerging Infectious Diseases
• Subjects: Chlamydia trachomatis; abortion; adverse pregnancy outcome; placental infection; sexually transmitted disease; miscarriage
• Online Access: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/17/9/10-0865_article

To determine the role of Chlamydia trachomatis in miscarriage, we prospectively collected serum, cervicovaginal swab specimens, and placental samples from 386 women with and without miscarriage. Prevalence of immunoglobulin G against C. trachomatis was higher in the miscarriage group than in the control group (15.2% vs. 7.3%; p = 0.018). Association between C. trachomatis–positive serologic results and miscarriage remained significant after adjustment for age, origin, education, and number of sex partners (odds ratio 2.3, 95% confidence interval 1.1–4.9). C. trachomatis DNA was more frequently amplified from products of conception or placenta from women who had a miscarriage (4%) than from controls (0.7%; p = 0.026). Immunohistochemical analysis confirmed C. trachomatis in placenta from 5 of 7 patients with positive PCR results, whereas results of immunohistochemical analysis were negative in placenta samples from all 8 negative controls tested. Associations between miscarriage and serologic/molecular evidence of C. trachomatis infection support its role in miscarriage.