Clinical Characteristics of Mycoplasma pneumoniae Pneumonia in Children and Analysis of the Risk Factors for Severe Mycoplasma pneumoniae Pneumonia

Purpose: To analyse the clinical features of Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (MPP) and the independent risk factors of severe MPP (SMPP) and to provide a theoretical basis for the early diagnosis of SMPP and timely judgment of changes in the disease’s progress. Patients and Methods: The clinical data of children with MPP who were treated in our hospital from January 2021 to December 2022 were collected and retrospectively analysed. 83 cases were assigned to the severe group (SMPP group) and 152 cases were assigned to the general group (MPP group). The epidemiology, clinical characteristics and related influencing factors of SMPP were analysed. Results: Compared with the MPP group, the SMPP group were older, had a longer fever time, had more imaging manifestations of large patchy consolidation and experienced a longer hospital stay. The peripheral blood white blood cell (WBC) count, C-reactive protein (CRP), serum IgA, serum IgG, serum IgM, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and ferritin (SF) in the SMPP group were significantly higher than those in the MPP group ( P < 0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that fever days (odds ratio [OR] = 1.31, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.03– 1.65, P = 0.021), CRP (OR = 1.16, 95% CI = 1.02– 1.10, P = 0.006), LDH (OR = 1.021, 95% CI = 1.01– 1.02, P = 0.002) and large patchy consolidation (OR = 10.38, 95% CI = 4.31– 31.02, P = 0.001) were independent factors of SMPP. Conclusion: All patients with MMP had a fever and a cough, and patients with SMPP had a high fever. Chest imaging examination of patients with SMPP showed extensive consolidation shadows in the lungs, and laboratory examinations showed significant increases in WBCs, CRP, LDH and SF. The fever time, CRP, LDH and imaging showed large patchy consolidation shadows are related to the severity of the disease. Keywords: Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia, clinical features, severe patients, children