First report on clinical features of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infections in Vietnamese children

Mycoplasma pneumoniae is a common cause of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in children, but there has been no clinical report on M. pneumoniae infections in Vietnamese children. We investigated the clinical features of M. pneumoniae infection when the pathogen was detected in the respiratory tract in hospitalized children aged 1-15 years due to lower respiratory tract infections or CAP in Vietnamese children. Throat swabs from 47 patients (18.6%) of 252 patients with a clinical diagnosis of CAP were PCR positive (male, 34; female, 13), and 21 throat swabs (8.3%) showed culture positive for M. pneumoniae. The M. pneumoniae pathogen could be detected by PCR and/or culture in 52 patients (male, 36; female, 16). The major clinical signs in the 52 patients were fever (38 degrees C) in 100%, pharyngitis in 100%, tachypnea in 94%, dry cough in 86.5%, and rough breathing in 83% of patients. The average term of illness prior to hospitalization was 7.5+/-4.1 days, and the average number of hospitalized days was 7.9+/-3.5 days. Beta-lactam group antibiotics, which were ineffective against M. pneumoniae infection, were used in 37 cases (71%).