Amplification of plasmid and chromosome chlamydia dna in synovial fluid of patients with reactive arthritis and undifferentiated seronegative oligoarthropathies

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the hypothesis that whole bacteria might be found in the joints of patients with Chlamydia-associated reactive arthritis. METHODS: The presence of 2 plasmid- and 2 chromosome-specific sequences of Chlamydia DNA was investigated by amplification with the polymerase chain reaction, in synovial fluid (SF) samples from 71 patients with various arthropathies. RESULTS: Chlamydia DNA was found in SF samples from 22 patients. CONCLUSION: Whole chlamydiae are likely present in the SF of patients with Chlamydia-associated reactive arthritis.