Abstract:

Objective To analyze the laboratory findings of adult community-acquired atypical pneumonia caused by classic microorganisms,like Mycoplasma pneumoniae （MP）,and to provide a reference for clinical diagnosis and treatment. Methods A total of 188 adults with community-acquired pneumonia were enrolled. Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction（qPCR） was used to determine MP,Chlamydia pneumoniae and Legionella pneumophila in sputum and/or orotharyngeal（OP）swabs. The clinical characteristics,laboratory findings and radiological data were analyzed. Results The positive rate of MP was 21.8%（41 cases）. Only 1 case was positive for Chlamydia pneumoniae,and all samples were negative to Legionella pneumophila. There were 23 positive cases of bacterial culturing（12.23%）. Compared with MP negative group,MP positive group was younger,with fewer basic diseases,and pulmonary involvement was mainly unilateral. There was no statistical significance in the other clinical symptoms and laboratory findings. The positive rate of MP in autumn and winter was higher than those in spring and summer（P<0.05）. Conclusions MP is the main pathogen of adult community-acquired atypical pneumonia. The qPCR has advantages in the early diagnosis of acute MP infection.

Key words: Community-acquired atypical pneumonia, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction