Mucosal Respiratory Syndrome: A Systematic Literature Review

Background: Mycoplasma pneumoniae atypical pneumonia is frequently associated with erythema multiforme. Occasionally, a mycoplasma infection does not trigger any cutaneous but exclusively mucosal lesions. The term mucosal respiratory syndrome is employed to denote the latter condition. Available reviews do not address the possible association of mucosal respiratory syndrome with further atypical bacterial pathogens such as Chlamydophila pneumoniae, Chlamydophila psittaci, Coxiella burnetii, Francisella tularensis, or Legionella species. We therefore performed a systematic review of the literature addressing this issue in the National Library of Medicine, Excerpta Medica, and Web of Science databases. Summary: We found 63 patients (<= 18 years, n = 36; >18 years, n = 27; 54 males and 9 females) affected by a mucosal respiratory syndrome. Fifty-three cases were temporally associated with a M. pneumoniae and 5 with a C. pneumoniae infection. No cases temporally associated with C. psittaci, C. burnetii, F. tularensis, or Legionella species infection were found. Two cases were temporally associated with Epstein-Barr virus or influenzavirus B, respectively. (c) 2021 S. Karger AG, Basel

Automated summary

In this systematic literature review, 63 cases of mucosal respiratory syndrome were identified, with the majority associated with Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection. Interestingly, no cases were found to be associated with other atypical bacterial pathogens such as Chlamydophila pneumoniae, Chlamydophila psittaci, Coxiella burnetii, Francisella tularensis, or Legionella species. This highlights the need for further research into the relationship between mucosal respiratory syndrome and these potential pathogens.