Infection by Mycoplasma pneumoniae and its importance as an etiological agent in childhood community-acquired pneumonias

Abstract

This manuscript reviewed the literature on infection by Mycoplasma pneumoniae with emphasis on etiological aspects of childhood community-acquired pneumonias. Bibliographical research was carried out from Pubmed Medline, MDConsult, HighWire, LILACS, and direct research over the past 10 years with the following keywords: Mycoplasma pneumoniae, pneumonia, and childhood. Fifty-four articles were selected. Mycoplasma pneumoniae has a high incidence in childhood. Clinical presentation includes respiratory and extrarespiratory symptoms. Mycoplasma pneumoniae lung infection can be confused with viral or bacterial pneumonia and is unresponsive to beta-lactams. In addition, co-infections have been reported. Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection occurs in all age groups, being less frequent and more severe in children under the age of five. Its incidence as a causal agent is high. Mycoplasma pneumoniae infections constitute 20%-40% of all community-acquired pneumonias; the severity is highly variable, and this condition may lead to severe sequelae. Mycoplasma pneumoniae frequency is underestimated in clinical practice because of the lack of specific features and a diagnosis that needs serology or PCR. Effective management of M. pneumoniae infections can usually be achieved with macrolides. In Brazil, epidemiological studies are needed in order to assess the incidence of this bacterium.

COMPARISON OF ENZYME IMMUNOASSAY WITH IMMUNOFLUORESCENCE ASSAY FOR THE DIAGNOSIS OF <I>MYCOPLASMA PNEUMONIAE</I> RESPIRATORY TRACT INFECTIONS IN CHILDREN

“…Sensitivities of serologic assays for the detection of Mycoplasma pneumoniae antibodies are known to vary (Beersma et al, 2005;Loens et al, 2010), IgM ELISA used in our previous study was found to be the most sensitive and specific (Abdul-Wahab et al, 2013), which is in agreement with the results obtained by other studies (Waris et al, 1998;Dorigo-Zetsma et al, 1999;Souliou et al, 2007;Vervloet et al, 2007;Myeong et al, 2012), IFA assay on the other hand, was found more sensitive and specific in adults (Andreu et al, 2006), the assay is relatively easy to perform and gives quantitative results but the main limitations are subjectivity of the interpretation of results and cross-reaction with rheumatoid factor (Vervloet et al, 2007).…”

“…After its discovery, several commercial kits have been produced with a great variety of antigen preparations, such as glycolipids, purified proteins (including P1 adhesin), synthetic peptides and a mix of antigen. It was appeared that the test is more sensitive for the detection of acute infection than cultures and has sensitivity comparable to PCR and is highly specific (Cassel et al, 1996;Vervloet et al, 2007;Atkinson et al, 2008), It allow the detection of IgG and/or IgM antibodies and apparently too sensitive for detecting specific antibodies. The technique is automated and requires small amounts of serum (Andreu et al, 2006;Vervloet et al, 2007).…”

“…It was appeared that the test is more sensitive for the detection of acute infection than cultures and has sensitivity comparable to PCR and is highly specific (Cassel et al, 1996;Vervloet et al, 2007;Atkinson et al, 2008), It allow the detection of IgG and/or IgM antibodies and apparently too sensitive for detecting specific antibodies. The technique is automated and requires small amounts of serum (Andreu et al, 2006;Vervloet et al, 2007). Furthermore, EIAs can detect IgG and IgM separately to distinguish between current and past infections Beersma et al, 2005).…”

Características clínico-radiológicas e hematológicas das pneumonias causadas pelo Mycoplasma pneumoniae

“…The factors include poor familiarity with clinical status, lack of quick and specific exams during the initial stage (often unavailable in most practices), and difficulty culturing said microorganisms in laboratories. 1 Identifying the etiologic agent is a key challenge for pneumonia. In everyday practice, clinicians usually resort to empirical treatment, since the agent is only identified in 40 to 60% of cases, 2,3 and can sometimes not be the sole case of the pneumonia.…”

“…1 The objective of this study is to describe a clinical, hematological and radiographic profile of children hospitalized for MP pneumonia, comparing it to the profile of pneumonia caused by other etiologic agents.…”