Mycoplasmal Pneumonia Clinical Presentation

  • Author: Michael Joseph Bono, MD, FACEP; Chief Editor: Robert E O'Connor, MD, MPH   more...
 
Updated: Mar 29, 2011
 

History

Mycoplasmal pneumonia is a disease of gradual and insidious onset of several days to weeks. The patient's history may include the following:

  • Fever
  • Malaise
  • Persistent, slowly worsening dry cough; absence of cough makes the diagnosis of M pneumoniae unlikely
  • Headache
  • Chills, not rigors
  • Scratchy sore throat
  • Sore chest and tracheal tenderness (result of the protracted cough)
  • Pleuritic chest pain (rare)
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Physical Examination

Most cases of pneumonia due to M pneumoniae resolve after several weeks, although a dry cough can be present for as long as a month; some patients can have a protracted illness lasting as long as 6 weeks. Other findings may also include the following:

  • A nontoxic general appearance
  • Erythematous tympanic membranes or bullous myringitis in patients older than 2 years, an uncommon but unique sign
  • Mild pharyngeal injection with minimal or no cervical adenopathy but no exudate
  • Normal lung findings with early infection but rhonchi, rales, and/or wheezes several days later
  • Various exanthems including erythema multiforme and Stevens-Johnson syndrome
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Contributor Information and Disclosures
Author

Michael Joseph Bono, MD, FACEP  Professor of Emergency Medicine, Associate Director of Emergency Medicine Residency Program, Department of Emergency Medicine, Eastern Virginia Medical School

Michael Joseph Bono, MD, FACEP is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American College of Emergency Physicians, American Heart Association, Medical Society of Virginia, and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Specialty Editor Board

Joseph A Salomone III, MD  Associate Professor and Attending Staff, Truman Medical Centers, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine; EMS Medical Director, Kansas City, Missouri

Joseph A Salomone III, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Emergency Medicine, National Association of EMS Physicians, and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD  Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Pharmacy; Senior Pharmacy Editor, eMedicine

Disclosure: eMedicine Salary Employment

Paul Blackburn, DO, FACOEP, FACEP  Program Director, Department of Emergency Medicine, Maricopa Medical Center; Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery, University of Arizona College of Medicine

Paul Blackburn, DO, FACOEP, FACEP is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Emergency Physicians, American College of Osteopathic Emergency Physicians, American Medical Association, and Arizona Medical Association

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Chief Editor

Robert E O'Connor, MD, MPH  Professor and Chair, Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Virginia Health System

Robert E O'Connor, MD, MPH is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Emergency Medicine, American College of Emergency Physicians, American College of Physician Executives, American Heart Association, American Medical Association, Medical Society of Delaware, National Association of EMS Physicians, Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, and Wilderness Medical Society

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

References

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Diagram of the Mollicutes class, to which the Mycoplasma genus belongs.
 
 
 
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