A Clinical Comparative Study of Mycoplasma Pneumoniae Pneumonia in Children under Three Years Old / 소아알레르기및호흡기학회지

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia is rarely found in children under 3 years old. Nevertheless, infants have been recently and frequently diagnosed with M. pneumoniae pneumonia. Therefore, the clinical characteristics of such children were investigated in this study. METHODS: Subjects were 232 infants (group A 0 to 11 months, group B 12 to 23 months, group C 24 to 35 months) who were diagnosed between January 2004 and December 2009 with M. pneumoniae pneumonia infection at Myongji Hospital. We reviewed their medical records, the early and monthly incidence of infection, clinical manifestations, and laboratory findings. RESULTS: Group A consisted of 28 patients (12.1%), group B 78 (33.6%), and group C 126 (54.3%). The younger patient group in the peak season, 2006, demonstrated a high incidence rate. Wheezing was more often auscultated in group A than in the other groups. Negative findings on chest X-rays were more often observed in group A. Serologically, high titers of mycoplasma-specific antibody (>11,280) were observed in lobar pneumonia and correlated with the severity of clinical manifestations. CONCLUSION: The age at which M. pneumoniae infection has been diagnosed has recently decreased and has been found with a particularly high frequency in infants. Despite shorter fever duration before hospitalization and uncertain radiological findings, including M. pneumoniae in the differential diagnosis of pneumonia is recommended for children under 1 year.