Importance of acute Mycoplasma pneumoniae and Chlamydia pneumoniae infections in children with wheezing

In order to evaluate the role of Mycoplasma pneumoniae and Chlamydia pneumoniae in reactive airway disease, 71 children aged 2-14 yrs with an acute episode of wheezing and 80 age-matched healthy children were studied. Sera for the determination of specific antibody levels and nasopharyngeal aspirates for the detection of M. pneumoniae and C. pneumoniae deoxyribonucleic acid were obtained on admission and after 4-6 weeks. All children with wheezing received a standard therapy with inhaled corticosteroids and bronchodilators for 5-7 days; when antibiotic was added on the basis of the judgement of the paediatrician in charge, clarithromycin 15 mg.kg body weight(-1).day(-1) for 10 days was used. Acute M. pneumoniae and C. pneumoniae infections were detected significantly more often in children with wheezing than in controls. In patients infected with one of the two pathogens, a history of recurrent wheezing was significantly more frequent than in those without either infection. During a 3-month follow-up period, among nonantibiotic-treated children, those with acute M. pneumoniae and/or C. pneumoniae infection showed a significantly higher recurrence of wheezing than those without acute M. pneumoniae and/or C. pneumoniae infection (p=0.03). These results highlight the apparently significant relationship of Mycoplasma pneumoniae and Chlamydia pneumoniae with wheezing in children, particularly in subjects with a history of recurrent episodes, and the possible improvement in the course of reactive airway disease within paediatric patients with acute Mycoplasma pneumoniae and/or Chlamydia pneumoniae infection.