Mycoplasma pneumoniae (M. pneumoniae) is an important pathogen of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in children. The coinfection rate of M. pneumoniae pneumonia (MPP) can reach 52% in some areas.

The purpose of a new study published in BMC Infectious Diseases was to recognize the effects of coinfection of M. pneumoniae pneumonia (MPP) with different pathogens.

In this study, 2 540 cases of MPP hospitalized in Beijing Childrens Hospital from 1/1/2014 to 12/31/2016 were screened. MPP patients coinfected with Human adenovirus (HAdV) were categorized into the research group. Patients with single M. pneumoniae infection were categorized into the control group, matching the research group by age and admission time with a ratio of 1:3. Clinical manifestations, laboratory examinations and disease severity were compared between the two groups.

Overall, 30 cases were recruited in the research group and 90 cases in the control group. The results disclosed that patients in the research group had longer hospital stays, longer fever durations and a higher rate of dyspnea, as well as greater applications of oxygen therapy and noninvasive continuous positive airway pressure (NCPAP). Whereas, no obvious differences were found in lab examinations within the two groups. Regarding disease severity, the proportions of extremely severe pneumonia and severe disease—defined by the clinical score system—were higher in the research group than in the control group.

Therefore, it was inferred that compared with single M. pneumoniae infection, MPP coinfected with HAdV in children was relatively more serious.

Source: BMC Infectious Diseases. 2020 Jun 16;20(1):420. doi: 10.1186/s12879-020-05152-x.