Mycoplasma pneumonia is a form of bacterial pneumonia

Bacterial pneumonia

Bacterial pneumonia is a type of pneumonia caused by bacterial infection.-Sign and symptoms:*Fever*Rigors*Cough*Dyspnea*Chest pain*Pneumococcal pneumonia can cause Hemoptysis-Gram positive:...

 which is caused by the bacteria species Mycoplasma pneumoniae

Mycoplasma pneumoniae

Mycoplasma pneumoniae is a very small bacterium in the class Mollicutes.It causes the disease mycoplasma pneumonia, a form of atypical bacterial pneumonia, and is related to cold agglutinin disease.-Cell wall/Treatment:...

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Pathophysiology

Mycoplasma pneumoniae is spread through respiratory droplet transmission. Once attached to the mucosa of a host organism, M. pneumoniae extracts nutrients, grows and reproduces by binary fission. Attachment sites include the upper and lower respiratory tract, causing pharyngitis

Pharyngitis

Pharyngitis is an inflammation of the throat or pharynx. In most cases it is quite painful, and is the most common cause of a sore throat.Like many types of inflammation, pharyngitis can be acute – characterized by a rapid onset and typically a relatively short course – or chronic....

, bronchitis

Bronchitis

Acute bronchitis is an inflammation of the large bronchi in the lungs that is usually caused by viruses or bacteria and may last several days or weeks. Characteristic symptoms include cough, sputum production, and shortness of breath and wheezing related to the obstruction of the inflamed airways...

 and pneumonia

Pneumonia

Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...

. The infection caused by this bacterium is called atypical pneumonia

Atypical pneumonia

Atypical pneumonia aka "walking pneumonia" is a pneumonia not caused by one of the more traditional pathogens, and with a clinical presentation inconsistent with typical pneumonia. It can be caused by a variety of microorganisms...

 because of its protracted course and lack of sputum production and wealth of extra-pulmonary symptoms. Chronic mycoplasma infections have been implicated in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, systemic inflammatory disorder that may affect many tissues and organs, but principally attacks synovial joints. The process produces an inflammatory response of the synovium secondary to hyperplasia of synovial cells, excess synovial fluid, and the development...

 and other rheumatological diseases.

Mycoplasma atypical pneumonia can be complicated by Stevens–Johnson syndrome, hemolytic anemia

Hemolytic anemia

Hemolytic anemia is a form of anemia due to hemolysis, the abnormal breakdown of red blood cells , either in the blood vessels or elsewhere in the human body . It has numerous possible causes, ranging from relatively harmless to life-threatening...

, encephalitis

Encephalitis

Encephalitis is an acute inflammation of the brain. Encephalitis with meningitis is known as meningoencephalitis. Symptoms include headache, fever, confusion, drowsiness, and fatigue...

 or Guillain-Barré syndrome

Guillain-Barré syndrome

Guillain–Barré syndrome , sometimes called Landry's paralysis, is an acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy , a disorder affecting the peripheral nervous system. Ascending paralysis, weakness beginning in the feet and hands and migrating towards the trunk, is the most typical symptom...

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Diagnosis

M. pneumoniae infections can be differentiated from other types of pneumonia by the relatively slow progression of symptoms, a positive blood test for cold-hemagglutinins in 50-70% of patients after 10 days of infection (cold-hemagglutinin-test should be used with caution or not at all since 50% of the tests are false-positive), lack of bacteria in a gram-stained sputum sample, and a lack of growth on blood agar.

PCR has also been used.

Treatment

Second generation macrolide

Macrolide

The macrolides are a group of drugs whose activity stems from the presence of a macrolide ring, a large macrocyclic lactone ring to which one or more deoxy sugars, usually cladinose and desosamine, may be attached. The lactone rings are usually 14-, 15-, or 16-membered...

 antibiotics (e.g. erythromycin

Erythromycin

Erythromycin is a macrolide antibiotic that has an antimicrobial spectrum similar to or slightly wider than that of penicillin, and is often used for people who have an allergy to penicillins. For respiratory tract infections, it has better coverage of atypical organisms, including mycoplasma and...

), doxycycline

Doxycycline

Doxycycline INN is a member of the tetracycline antibiotics group, and is commonly used to treat a variety of infections. Doxycycline is a semisynthetic tetracycline invented and clinically developed in the early 1960s by Pfizer Inc. and marketed under the brand name Vibramycin. Vibramycin...

 and second generation quinolones are effective treatments.