Epidemiology and clinical features of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection in children

Abstract

Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MP) is, considered to affect rarely children less than 5 yrs of age. This study was performed to describe the epidemiology and the clinical features of MP lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) in children, presenting to a tertiary children hospital. Eleven month-longitudinal study of LRTI due to MP, diagnosed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on throat swab specimen, was performed. Out of 866 children with LRTI admitted to the Gaslini Pediatric Institute in Genoa, 102 had a positive PCR for MP. We found 39 preschool-aged children, 42 school-aged children and 21 young adolescent [6.20 (3.81) yrs old]. Interestingly, eight MP+ infants had <8 months of age. The commonest presentations were cough and/or fever (76.5%). Tachypnoea, upper respiratory tract involvement, diarrhoea and vomiting were more common in the <5 yr Gr as compared to the other groups. Chest X-ray was found abnormal in 76 children: consolidations were the commonest finding. Laboratory test showed that the preschool-aged children had a higher number of lymphocytes (p<0.0001) and monocytes (p=0.009). Thrombocytosis was found in 35.7% of children and was more frequent in the preschool-aged children (p=0.013). MP infection is common in preschool-aged children, including young infants, and may have different clinical presentation, as compared to older children.

Detection of Mycoplasma pneumoniae Among Children with Pneumonia Using Bacterial Culture, Polymerase Chain Reaction, and the Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay Techniques in Ahvaz, Iran

“…In agreement with the current study results, other studies reported that children aged above 5 years had the higher rates of M. pneumoniae infections in comparison with children less than 5 years old (15)(16)(17). In the current study, the detection of M. pneumoniae DNA in the nasopharynx swabs was performed by the amplification of the P1 gene and 11 out of 136 cases (8.08%) were positive.…”

Association of Mycoplasma pneumoniae antibody titer level with clinical severity of pneumonia in children

“…As already mentioned earlier, the severity of disease and disease presentation in affected children younger than five years old tend to be less severe and different than those older, according to the clinical observations done during this study as well as according to some others [4,5,10] . Patients with higher titers of antibodies took longer time to recover from fever, cough and abnormal lungs findings.…”

“…Recent studies have concluded that children under five years, including infants, are more commonly affected by Mycoplasma pneumoniae [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] . From the data collected in our ward itself, out of the 504 cases admitted from January 2010 to December 2010, 33.7% were younger than five years old.…”

“…Where the level was very high as well as where the disease was more serious, the platelets were also raised (>600 x 10 9 /L) in some in-patient cases observed. Recent research mentioned that platelets may have an anti-bacterial effect [4,5,12] . It has been proposed that, as platelets rapidly accumulate at sites of infection, they may play similar "watch guards" roles to that of traditional immune cells such as macrophages, mast cells and dendritic cells.…”

Treatment of Mycoplasma Pneumonia: A Systematic Review

“…3 M. pneumoniae is a common cause of CAP and other community-acquired lower respiratory tract infections (CA-LRTIs), particularly in school-age children and adolescents, but there are large gaps in our understanding of this disease. 3,4 Prevalence estimates vary from 10% to 40% in pediatric CA-LRTI, [5][6][7][8][9] and few studies address treatment recommendations. 4,10 Additionally, the IDSA guidelines target the use of macrolides in CA-LRTI as an area needing additional research.…”