Clinical significance of different bacterial load ofMycoplasma pneumoniae in patients with Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia

• Main Author: Jiang,Wujun
• Publication Date: 2014
• Other Authors: Yan,Yongdong, Ji,Wei, Wang,Yuqing, Chen,Zhengrong
• Format: Article
• Language: eng
• Source: Brazilian Journal of Infectious Diseases
• Download full: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1413-86702014000200124
• topic: Mycoplasma pneumoniae; Pneumonia; Polymerase chain reaction; Serology

OBJECTIVE:This retrospective study was conducted to investigate the clinical significance of differentMycoplasma pneumoniae bacterial load in patients with M. pneumoniae pneumonia (MP) in children.METHODS:Patients with MP (n=511) were identified at the Children's Hospital Affiliated to Soochow University database during an outbreak of MP between January 2012 and February 2013.RESULTS:Comparing patients with high and low bacterial load those with higher loads were significantly older (p<0.01) and had fever significantly more frequently (p=0.01). Presence of wheezing at presentation was associated with low bacterial load (p=0.03). Baseline positive IgM was present in 93 (56.4%) patients with high bacterial load compared to 46 (27.8%) patients with low bacterial load (p<0.001). Co-infection with viruses was found significantly more frequent among patients with low bacterial load (24.2%) than those with high bacterial load (8.5%) [p<0.001]. Bacterial co-infection was also more frequently detected among patients with low bacterial load (22.4%) than in those with high bacterial load (12.1%) [p=0.01].CONCLUSION:M. pneumoniae at a high bacterial load could be an etiologic agent of respiratory tract disease, whereas the etiologic role of MP at a low bacterial load remains to be determined.