Pediatric respiratory infections by Mycoplasma pneumoniae

Mycoplasma pneumoniae is one of the most common agents of community-acquired pneumonia in children and young adults. Although M. pneumoniae is a small bacterium that can reproduce in an artificial culture medium and is known to be sensitive to certain antibiotics in vitro as well as in vivo, the immunopathogenesis of M. pneumoniae in the human host is not fully understood. The epidemiologic characteristics, including periodic epidemics, and some clinical characteristics of M. pneumoniae are similar to those observed in systemic viral infections. Many experimental and clinical studies have suggested that the pathogenesis of lung injuries in M. pneumoniae infection is associated with a cell-mediated immune reaction, including high responsiveness to corticosteroid therapy. This paper presents an overview of M. pneumoniae infections, with emphasis on epidemiology, pathogenesis and treatment.