Kidney Trouble Shows Up in Psittaci Pneumonia Cases

A lung infection caused by Chlamydia psittaci can also put kidneys under strain. A review of hospital records from 10 sites in Guangdong, China, covered patients from 2019 to 2026. The group had 241 patients with Chlamydia psittaci pneumonia. Fifty-one developed acute kidney injury. That was 21.2 percent. The rate was much higher in severe pneumonia cases. The gap was statistically strong.

More of the kidney-injury patients were men. More had smoked before. Hypertension and coronary artery disease were also more common. They were more likely to have shortness of breath, muscle pain, or changed mental status. Their pneumonia severity scores were higher. They stayed in hospital longer. More of them died.

Blood tests gave more clues. CRP, CRP-to-lymphocyte ratio, procalcitonin, creatine kinase, lactate dehydrogenase, aspartate transaminase, D-dimer, blood urea nitrogen, serum creatinine, NT-proBNP, and high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T were higher in the kidney-injury group. The analysis pointed to three independent risk factors. Hypertension, a higher PSI score, and elevated creatine kinase stood out.

Most kidney injuries were stage 1. That was 74.5 percent. Stage 2 was 21.6 percent. Stage 3 was 3.9 percent. Seven of the 51 kidney-injury patients died. That was 13.7 percent. The other 44 recovered.