Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia in hospitalized children diagnosed at acute stage by paired sera

Background Mycoplasma pneumoniae (M pneumoniae) is a frequent cause of respiratory tract infections However, there is deficient knowledge about the clinical manifestations of M pneumoniae infection We described the clinical and laboratory findings of M pneumoniae pneumonia in hospitalized children who were all diagnosed by a >= fourfold increase in antibody titer Methods M pneumoniae antibodies were routinely detected in children admitted with acute respiratory infection during a one-year period The medical history was re-collected from children whose M pneumoniae antibody titer increased >= fourfold at the bedside by a single person, and their frozen paired serum samples were measured again for the M pneumoniae antibody titer Results Of the 635 children whose sera were detected for the M pneumoniae antibody paired sera were obtained from 82 and 29 3% (24/82) showed a >= fourfold increase in antibody titer There were 24 cases nine boys and 15 girls, aged from two to 14 years, whose second serum samples were taken on day 9 at the earliest after symptom onset, the shortest interval was three days All children presented with a high fever (>= 38 5 degrees C) and coughing Twenty one had no nasal obstruction or a runny nose and five had mild headaches which all were associated with the high fever The disease was comparatively severe if the peak temperature was >39 5 degrees C All were diagnosed as having pneumonia through chest X-rays Four had bilateral or multilobar involvement and their peak temperatures were all <= 39 5 degrees C None of the children had difficulty in breathing and all showed no signs of wheezing Conclusions The second serum sample could be taken on day 9 at the earliest after symptom onset meant that paired sera could be used for the clinical diagnosis of M pneumoniae pneumonia in children at the acute stage M pneumoniae is a lower respiratory tract pathogen Extrapulmonary complications were rare and minor in our study High peak temperature (>39 5 degrees C) is correlated with the severity of M pneumoniae pneumonia in childrenMedicine, General & InternalSCI(E)中国科技核心期刊(ISTIC)5ARTICLE233444-345012