Internal medicine

Adverse effect

Prednisolone

Mycoplasma pneumoniae

Antibiotics

Biology

Microbiology

Gastroenterology

Prospective cohort study

Corticosteroid

Pneumonia

Mycoplasma pneumonia

Methylprednisolone

Medicine

Journal of Clinical Medicine

Antibiotics' effect on Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MP) infection still remains controversial. A prospective study of 257 children with MP pneumonia during a recent epidemic (2015-2016) was conducted. All MP pneumonia patients were treated with corticosteroids within 24-36 h after admission. Initially, oral prednisolone (1 mg/kg) or intravenous methylprednisolone (IVMP; 1-2 mg/kg) was administered for mild pneumonia patients, and IVMP (5-10 mg/kg/day) for severe pneumonia patients. If patients showed a persistent fever for 36-48 h or disease progression, additive IVMP (5 mg/kg or 10 mg/kg) was given. Thirty-three percent of patients received only a broad-spectrum antibiotic without a macrolide. The mean age and the male-to-female ratio was 5.6 ± 3.1 years and 1:1, respectively. Seventy-four percent of patients showed immediate defervescence within 24 h, and 96% of patients showed defervescence within 72 h with improvements in clinical symptoms. Three percent of patients (8/257) who received additive IVMP also showed clinical improvement within 48 h without adverse reactions. There were no clinical or laboratory differences between patients treated with a macrolide (n = 172) and without (n = 85). Early corticosteroid therapy might reduce disease morbidity and prevent disease progression in MP pneumonia patients without side effects, and antibiotics may have limited effects on MP infection.

Early Corticosteroid Therapy for Mycoplasma pneumoniae Pneumonia Irrespective of Used Antibiotics in Children