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Introduction: Macrolide‐resistant Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MRMP) has become prevalent in children. This study investigated the clinical and laboratory variables of MRMP and macrolide‐sensitive M. pneumoniae (MSMP) and identified factors associated with prolonged hospital admission in children. Methods: A prospective multicenter study was conducted in 1063 children <18 years old in July 2018–June 2020. The 454 had a positive M. pneumoniae polymerase chain reaction assay. Results: Most subjects had MRMP (78.4%), and all mutated strains had the A2063G transition. We defined MRMP* (n = 285) as MRMP pneumonia requiring admission and MSMP* (n = 72) as MSMP pneumonia requiring admission. Patients with MRMP pneumonia were older, more likely to have segmental/lobar pneumonia, and had more febrile days than those with MSMP pneumonia. C‐reactive protein (CRP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and percentage neutrophils were more strongly associated with MRMP* than MSMP* groups. Percentage neutrophils, CRP, and alanine aminotransferase significantly changed between admission and follow‐up measurements in patients with MRMP* (P < 0.05). The duration of admission positively correlated with the number of febrile days after initiation of antibiotic medication and laboratory variables (white blood cell count, CRP, and aspartate aminotransferase [AST]) (P < 0.05). Random forest analysis indicated that the number of febrile days after initiation of antibiotic medication, AST, and percentage neutrophils at admission was over five. Conclusions: This study indicated that children with M. pneumoniae pneumonia with a higher number of febrile days after initiation of antibiotic medication, AST, and percentage neutrophils at admission were more likely to have prolonged admission duration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Various numerical asthma control tools have been developed to distinguish different levels of symptom control. We aimed to examine whether the asthma control test (ACT) is reflective of objective findings such as lung function, fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) and laboratory data in patients with stable asthma. Methods: We included patients who were enrolled in the Korean Childhood Asthma Study. ACT, spirometry, blood tests and FeNO were performed in patients after stabilization of their asthma. We examined differences among spirometry parameters, blood tests and FeNO according to control status as determined by ACT and investigated for any significant correlations. Results: The study population consisted of 441 subjects. Spirometry showed that forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), forced expiratory flow between 25% and 75% of forced vital capacity and FEV1/forced vital capacity were all significantly higher in the controlled asthma group. Likewise, FeNO and percent-change in FEV1 were both significantly lower in the controlled asthma group. In blood tests, the eosinophil fraction was significantly lower in the controlled asthma group while white blood cell count was significantly higher in the controlled asthma group. Lastly, among the various factors analyzed, only provocative concentration of methacholine causing a 20% fall in FEV1 significantly correlated with ACT score. Conclusion: ACT is useful as part of the routine evaluation of asthmatic children and should be used as a complement to existing tools such as spirometry and FeNO measurement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]