ABSTRACT
In recent years a number of observational studies have suggested an association between infection with Chlamydia pneumoniae and the development of asthma (1,2) while other studies have found an association between infection with C. pneumoniae and the severity of asthma (3-5). These observations beg the question of whether treatment with antibiotics that are active against C. pneumoniae will lead to an improvement in the severity of asthma in individuals with evidence of infection with C. pneumoniae. In vitro activity against C. pneumoniae has been demonstrated with macrolides, tetracyclines, and quinolones (6,7), although most clinical studies of treatment for C. pneumoniae in patients with asthma have used macrolide antibiotics including roxithromycin, clarithromycin, erythromycin, and azithromycin. Interest in a role for macrolide antibiotics in the treatment of asthma, however, predates the recognition of Chlamydia pneumoniae as a respiratory pathogen.
