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Meta-Analysis
. 2015 Jan 8;1(1):CD004875.
doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD004875.pub5.

Antibiotics for community-acquired lower respiratory tract infections secondary to Mycoplasma pneumoniae in children

Samantha J Gardiner  1 , John B Gavranich, Anne B Chang
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Antibiotics for community-acquired lower respiratory tract infections secondary to Mycoplasma pneumoniae in children

Samantha J Gardiner et al. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. .

Abstract

Background. Mycoplasma pneumoniae (M. pneumoniae) is widely recognised as an important cause of community-acquired lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) in children. Pulmonary manifestations are typically tracheobronchitis or pneumonia but M. pneumoniae is also implicated in wheezing episodes in both asthmatic and non-asthmatic individuals. Although antibiotics are used to treat LRTIs, are view of several major textbooks offers conflicting advice for using antibiotics in the management of M. pneumoniae LRTI in children.Objectives To determine whether antibiotics are effective in the treatment of childhood LRTI secondary to M. pneumoniae infections acquired in the community.Search methods We searched CENTRAL (2014, Issue 3), MEDLINE (1966 to July week 4, 2014), EMBASE (1980 to July, 2014), and both WHOICTRP and ClinicalTrials.gov (13 August 2014).Selection criteria Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) comparing antibiotics commonly used for treating M. pneumoniae (i.e. macrolide, tetracycline or quinolone classes) versus placebo, or antibiotics from any other class in the treatment of children under 18 years of age with community acquired LRTI secondary to M. pneumoniae.Data collection and analysis The review authors independently selected trials for inclusion and assessed methodological quality. We extracted and analysed relevant data separately and resolved disagreements by consensus.Main results A total of 1912 children were enrolled from seven studies. Data interpretation was limited by the inability to extract data that referred to children with M. pneumoniae. In most studies, clinical response did not differ between children randomised to a macrolide antibiotic and children randomised to a non-macrolide antibiotic. In one controlled study (of children with recurrent respiratory infections, whose acute LRTI was associated with Mycoplasma, Chlamydia or both, by polymerase chain reaction and/or paired sera) 100% of children treated with azithromycin had clinical resolution of their illness compared to 77% not treated with azithromycin at one month. Authors' conclusions There is insufficient evidence to draw any specific conclusions about the efficacy of antibiotics for this condition in children (although one trial suggests macrolides may be efficacious in some children with LRTI secondary to Mycoplasma). The use of antibiotics has to be balanced with possible adverse events. There is still a need for high quality, double-blinded RCTs to assess the efficacy and safety of antibiotics for LRTI secondary to M. pneumoniae in children.

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Conflict of interest statement

Samantha J Gardiner: none known. John B Gavranich: none known. Anne B Chang is a recipient of a GlaxoSmithKline grant towards the study of microbia in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), a topic unrelated to this review. AC has received funding from Johnson and Johnson (J&J) to present at the World Paediatric series, though the talk does not endorse nor make reference to J&J. AC is also the principal investigator on a study examining azithromycin for bronchiolitis in Indigenous children.

Figures

1
1
Methodological quality graph: review authors' judgements about each methodological quality item presented as percentages across all included studies.
2
2
Methodological quality summary: review authors' judgements about each methodological quality item for each included study.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Update of

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References to other published versions of this review

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