Epidemiology and clinical features of culture-proven Mycoplasma pneumonia infections at King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Abstract EN

This retrospective chart review describes the epidemiology and clinical features of 40 patients with culture-proven Mycoplasma pneumoniae infections at King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Patients with positive Mycoplasma pneumoniae cultures from respiratory specimens from January 1997 through December 1998 were identified through the Microbiology records.

Charts of patients were reviewed.

Forty patients were identified, 33 (82.5 %) of whom required admission.

Most infections (92.5 %) were community-acquired.

The infection affected all age groups but was most common in infants (32.5 %) and preschool children (22.5 %).

It occurred yearround but was common in the fall (35 %), and spring (30 %).

More than threequarters of patients (77.5 %) had comorbidities.

Twenty-four isolates (60 %) were associated with pneumonia, 14 (35 %) with upper respiratory tract infections, and 2 (5 %) with bronchiolitis.

Cough (82.5 %), fever (75 %), and malaise (58.8 %) were the most common symptoms, and crepitations (60 %), and wheezes (40 %) were the most common signs.

Most patients with pneumonia had crepitations (79.2 %) but only 25 % had bronchial breathing.

Immunocompromised patients were more likely than non-immunocompromised patients to present with pneumonia (8 / 9 versus 16/31, P = 0.05).

Of the 24 patients with pneumonia, 14 (58.3 %) had uneventful recovery, 4 (16.7 %) recovered following some complications, 3 (12.5 %) died because of M.

pneumoniae infection, and 3 (12.5 %) died due to underlying comorbidities.

The 3 patients who died of M.

pneumoniae had other comorbidities.

Our results were similar to published data except for the finding that infections were more common in infants and preschool children and of that of the mortality rate of pneumonia in patients with comorbidities was high.