Differences in the clinical features of Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia among children of different ages

Abstract:

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical features of Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (MPP) among children of different ages. METHODS: Retrospective analysis was performed on the clinical data of 112 children who were hospitalized due to MMP between January 2010 and December 2011. The children were divided into 3 groups according to their ages: infants (<3 years; n=20), preschool-aged children (≥3 years; n=41), and school-aged children (6-15.2 years; n=51). The three groups were compared in terms of their clinical symptoms, pulmonary signs, chest X-ray findings and laboratory test results. RESULTS: The infant group presented mainly with expectoration and wheezing, accompanied by low fever. They showed gastrointestinal symptoms as the most common extra-pulmonary manifestation and had evident pulmonary signs. The majority of the school-aged children group presented with high fever and a severe dry cough, and wheezing was seen in several of them. They showed rash as the most common extra-pulmonary manifestation and had slight pulmonary signs. The symptoms of the preschool-aged children group were in between. In the infant and preschool-aged children groups, most showed bronchopneumonia on chest X-ray, while in the school-aged children group, chest X-rays mostly showed segmental parenchymatous infiltration. The infant group had a higher lymphocyte count than the school-aged children group, while the school-aged children group had a higher serum C-reactive protein level than the infant group. CONCLUSIONS: The clinical features of MPP are different among children of different ages, especially between infants and school-aged children.