Butpech T, Tovichien P. Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia in children. World J Clin Cases 2025; 13(5): 99149 [DOI: 10.12998/wjcc.v13.i5.99149]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Prakarn Tovichien, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, 2 Wanglang Road, Bangkok Noi, Bangkok 10700, Thailand. prakarn.tov@mahidol.edu
Research Domain of This Article
Respiratory System
Article-Type of This Article
Letter to the Editor
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Clin Cases. Feb 16, 2025; 13(5): 99149 Published online Feb 16, 2025. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v13.i5.99149
Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia in children
Thakoon Butpech, Prakarn Tovichien
Thakoon Butpech, Prakarn Tovichien, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10700, Thailand
Author contributions: Butpech T and Tovichien P contributed equally to the study; Butpech T and Tovichien P designed the overall concept, outlined the manuscript, reviewed the literature, and wrote and edited the manuscript; and all authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Thakoon Butpech and Prakarn Tovichien have nothing to disclose.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Prakarn Tovichien, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, 2 Wanglang Road, Bangkok Noi, Bangkok 10700, Thailand. prakarn.tov@mahidol.edu
Received: July 15, 2024 Revised: October 11, 2024 Accepted: November 4, 2024 Published online: February 16, 2025 Processing time: 127 Days and 3.1 Hours
Abstract
Mycoplasma pneumoniae (M. pneumoniae) is a common pathogen that causes community-acquired pneumonia in children. The clinical presentation of this pathogen can range from mild self-limiting illness to severe and refractory cases. Complications may occur, such as necrotizing pneumonia and respiratory failure. Extrapulmonary complications, including encephalitis, myocarditis, nephritis, hepatitis, or even multiple organ failure, can also arise. In this editorial, we discuss the clinical implications of the significant findings from the article "Serum inflammatory markers in children with M. pneumoniae pneumonia and their predictive value for mycoplasma severity" published by Wang et al. They reported that measuring lactic dehydrogenase, interleukin-6 levels, and D-dimer effectively predicts refractory M. pneumoniae pneumonia cases.
Core Tip: Children with Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia who have severe imaging abnormalities, respiratory failure, or extrapulmonary complications or do not improve after macrolide treatment should be monitored for inflammatory markers such as lactic dehydrogenase, C-reactive protein, and interleukin-6. These markers help predict severe and refractory cases. Clinicians should identify the cause of macrolide non-responsiveness, such as resistant strains or co-infection, and consider starting glucocorticoid treatment for refractory cases.
