Antibiotics to treat community-acquired lower respiratory tract infections secondary to <I>Mycoplasma pneumoniae</I> in children

Mulholland S, Gavranich JB, Chang AB

Published Online:

July 7, 2010

Mycoplasma pneumoniae (M. pneumoniae) is a bacterial infection often responsible for lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) in children. The infection can present in a number of different ways and the most common respiratory manifestations are acute bronchitis, pneumonia or wheezing. The illness is generally self-limiting with symptoms that can last several weeks but may (occasionally) also cause severe pneumonia. Antibiotics are often given to children with M. pneumoniae LRTI. We found seven studies (1912 children) but could not extract relevant data relating to efficacy or adverse events. Thus there is still insufficient evidence to show conclusively that antibiotics are effective in children with LRTI caused by M. pneumoniae.

Abstract (click to read)

Background:

Mycoplasma pneumoniae (M. pneumoniae) is widely recognised as an important cause of community-acquired lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) in children. Pulmonary manifestations are typically tracheobronchitis or pneumonia but M. pneumoniae is also implicated in wheezing episodes in both asthmatic and non-asthmatic individuals. Although antibiotics are used to treat LRTI, a review of several major textbooks offers conflicting advice for using antibiotics in the management of M. pneumoniae LRTI in children.

Objectives:

To determine whether antibiotics are effective in the treatment of childhood LRTI secondary to M. pneumoniae infections acquired in the community.

Search strategy:

We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library 2010, issue 1), which contains the Acute Respiratory Infections Group's Specialised Register, MEDLINE (1966 to February 2010) and EMBASE (1980 to February 2010).

Selection criteria:

Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) comparing antibiotics commonly used for treating M. pneumoniae (i.e. macrolide, tetracycline or quinolone classes) versus placebo, or antibiotics from any other class in the treatment of children under 18 years of age with community-acquired LRTI secondary to M. pneumoniae.

Data collection and analysis:

The review authors independently selected trials for inclusion and assessed methodological quality. We extracted and analysed relevant data separately. Disagreements were resolved by consensus.

Main results:

A total of 1912 children were enrolled from seven studies. Data interpretation was limited by the inability to extract data that referred to children with M. pneumoniae. In most studies, clinical response did not differ between children randomised to a macrolide antibiotic and children randomised to a non-macrolide antibiotic. In one controlled study (of children with recurrent respiratory infections, whose acute LRTI was associated with Mycoplasma, Chlamydia or both by polymerase chain reaction, and/or paired sera) 100% of children treated with azithromycin had clinical resolution of their illness compared to 77% not treated with azithromycin at one month.

Authors' conclusions:

There is insufficient evidence to draw any specific conclusions about the efficacy of antibiotics for this condition in children (although one trial suggests macrolides may be efficacious in some children with LRTI secondary to Mycoplasma). The use of antibiotics has to be balanced with possible adverse events. There is still a need for high quality, double-blinded RCTs to assess the efficacy and safety of antibiotics for LRTI secondary to M. pneumoniae in children.

This record should be cited as:

Mulholland S, Gavranich JB, Chang AB. Antibiotics for community-acquired lower respiratory tract infections secondary to Mycoplasma pneumoniae in children. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2010, Issue 7. Art. No.: CD004875. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD004875.pub3

Assessed as up to date:

February 22, 2010

Find the research

Get full text at The Cochrane Library

Primary Review Group:

Acute Respiratory Infections Group

Health topics:

Infectious disease > Respiratory infections > Non-specific infections

Infectious disease > Respiratory infections > Pneumonia

Lungs & airways > Respiratory infections > Pneumonia

Cochrane Summaries^beta

Independent high-quality evidence for health care decision making

Antibiotics to treat community-acquired lower respiratory tract infections secondary to <I>Mycoplasma pneumoniae</I> in children

More like this

Copyright © 2012 - The Cochrane Collaboration