OBJECTIVETo investigate the clinical features of Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (MPP) among children of different ages.

METHODSRetrospective analysis was performed on the clinical data of 112 children who were hospitalized due to MMP between January 2010 and December 2011. The children were divided into 3 groups according to their ages: infants (<3 years; n=20), preschool-aged children (≥3 years; n=41), and school-aged children (6-15.2 years; n=51). The three groups were compared in terms of their clinical symptoms, pulmonary signs, chest X-ray findings and laboratory test results.

RESULTSThe infant group presented mainly with expectoration and wheezing, accompanied by low fever. They showed gastrointestinal symptoms as the most common extra-pulmonary manifestation and had evident pulmonary signs. The majority of the school-aged children group presented with high fever and a severe dry cough, and wheezing was seen in several of them. They showed rash as the most common extra-pulmonary manifestation and had slight pulmonary signs. The symptoms of the preschool-aged children group were in between. In the infant and preschool-aged children groups, most showed bronchopneumonia on chest X-ray, while in the school-aged children group, chest X-rays mostly showed segmental parenchymatous infiltration. The infant group had a higher lymphocyte count than the school-aged children group, while the school-aged children group had a higher serum C-reactive protein level than the infant group.

CONCLUSIONSThe clinical features of MPP are different among children of different ages, especially between infants and school-aged children.