Prevalence of mycoplasma pneumoniae and macrolide resistance in children with community-acquired pneumonia: a case study in a teaching hospital

Background: Mycoplasma pneumoniae is one of the causes of upper and lower respiratory tract infections especially in children, and antibiotics affecting the cell wall do not affect this type of infection. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of Mycoplasma pneumoniae and macrolide resistance in children with community-acquired pneumonia in Kerman city. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in a selected teaching hospital in Kerman city from July 2018 to July 2019. Fifty-one children hospitalized in the pediatric ward were diagnosed with bacterial pneumonia acquired from the community. These children were included in the study by census method. The data collection tool was a standard checklist. The checklist was completed by parents. Pharynx and nasal swab samples were taken from all patients. PCR was used to identify mycoplasma. Results: The highest number of patients with bacterial pneumonia acquired from the community were male (52.9%). The average age of these cases was 5.52±3.93 years and the average weight of these patients was 17.23±10.55 kg. Lung involvement was one-sided in more than half of the patients. The most of lung involvements were lobar (31.4%). More than half of the patients didn’t have any associated involvement (52.9%). The most common type of associated involvement was peribronchial thickening (29.4%). The most commonly used antibiotic was Ceftriaxone (76.5%). The prevalence of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection in children with pneumonia was 2%. These children had an rRNA gene at position 2063 that had high levels of macrolide resistance. Conclusion: The results of this study showed very low rates of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection in children with bacterial pneumonia acquired from the community. Therefore, it can be concluded that in addition to Mycoplasma pneumoniae, other viral and bacterial agents are also involved in respiratory infections that need to be identified and addressed.