Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Feb;109(2):375-380.
doi: 10.1111/apa.14891. Epub 2019 Jun 27.

Mycoplasma pneumoniae detection in children with respiratory tract infections and influence on management - a retrospective cohort study in Switzerland

Alexa Dierig  1 , Hans Hellmuth Hirsch  2   3 , Marie-Luise Decker  4 , Julia Anna Bielicki  1   4 , Ulrich Heininger  1 , Nicole Ritz  1   5
Affiliations

Mycoplasma pneumoniae detection in children with respiratory tract infections and influence on management - a retrospective cohort study in Switzerland

Alexa Dierig et al. Acta Paediatr. 2020 Feb.

Abstract

Aim: To evaluate the frequency of Mycoplasma pneumoniae in nasopharyngeal specimens from children with respiratory tract infections (RTIs) and to detail clinical characteristics and management.

Methods: The study was designed as a retrospective cohort study. All children with RTI and nucleic acid amplification testing from nasopharyngeal specimens were analysed. Clinical data were extracted from electronic health records for all M. pneumoniae-positive cases. Stored samples of cases and a random selection of matched controls were retested using a M. pneumoniae-specific nucleic acid amplification test.

Results: Of 4460 children, 70 (1.6%) were positive for M. pneumoniae with a median age of 6.4 (IQR: 2.7-9.7). M. pneumoniae was the only organism identified in 50/64 (78%) cases. Macrolide treatment was prescribed in 52/65 (80%); prescription was empirical in 29/52 (56%) and targeted in 23/52 (44%) with no difference regarding patient age, oxygen requirement or duration of hospitalisation.

Conclusion: The prevalence of M. pneumoniae in nasopharyngeal specimens of children with RTI was low. The detection of M. pneumoniae influenced antibiotic prescriptions, but the benefit of early empirical versus targeted treatment remains unclear.

Keywords: Bronchitis; LRTI; Macrolides; Pneumonia; x-ray.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

JAB declares that her husband is employed by Novartis. All other authors have nothing to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Age‐stratified analysis of Mycoplasma pneumoniae cases between 2010 and 2014.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Gardiner SV, Gavranich JB, Chang AB. Antibiotics for community‐acquired lower respiratory tract infections secondary to Mycoplasma pneumoniae in children (Review). Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2015; (1): CD004875. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Jain S, Self WH, Wunderink RG, Fakhran S, Balk R, Bramley AM, et al. Community‐acquired pneumonia requiring hospitalization among U.S. adults. N Engl J Med 2015; 373: 415427. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Michelow IC, Olsen K, Lozano J, Rollins NK, Duffy LB, Ziegler T, et al. Epidemiology and clinical characteristics of community‐acquired pneumonia in hospitalized children. Pediatrics 2004; 113: 701–7. - PubMed
    1. Meyer Sauteur PM, Van Rossum AMC, Vink C. Mycoplasma pneumoniae in children: carriage, pathogenesis, and antibiotic resistance. Curr Opin Infect Dis 2014; 27: 220–7. - PubMed
    1. Moynihan KM, Barlow A, Nourse C, Heney C, Schlebusch S, Schlapbach LJ. Severe Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection in children admitted to pediatric intensive care. Pediatr Infect Dis J 2018; 37: e336–8. - PubMed

MeSH terms