Chest computed tomography for the diagnosis of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection

Abstract

We analysed 53 cases of laboratory-confirmed Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection with cough lasting ≥ 7 days and chest radiography showing no abnormal findings. Twenty-two (41%) of those patients showed abnormal findings on chest high-resolution computed tomography. In the daily clinical setting, for assessment of acute cough, physicians should be aware that it is difficult to confirm bronchiolitis or bronchopneumonia due to M. pneumoniae by chest radiography.

Keywords: Mycoplasma pneumonia; bronchial wall thickening; centrilobular nodule; community‐acquired pneumonia; high‐resolution computed tomography.