eMedicine Specialties > Emergency Medicine > Pulmonary

Pneumonia, Mycoplasma: Follow-up

Author: Michael J Bono, MD, FACEP, Professor of Emergency Medicine, Associate Director of Emergency Medicine Residency Program, Department of Emergency Medicine, Eastern Virginia Medical School
Contributor Information and Disclosures

Updated: Aug 5, 2008

Follow-up

Further Inpatient Care

  • If patients with pneumonia due to M pneumoniae require admission, use of standard and droplet precautions are recommended for the duration of the illness.

Further Outpatient Care

  • Antibiotic prophylaxis for exposed contacts is not routinely recommended. However, macrolide or doxycycline prophylaxis should be used in households in which patients with underlying conditions may be predisposed to severe mycoplasmal infection, such as those with sickle cell disease or antibody deficiencies.

Complications

  • Lobar consolidation
  • Abscess
  • Bronchiolitis obliterans
  • Necrotizing pneumonitis
  • Acute respiratory distress syndrome
  • Respiratory failure
  • Extremely rare extrapulmonary complications include the following: myocarditis, pericarditis, conduction abnormalities, encephalitis, Guillain-Barré syndrome, peripheral neuropathy, transverse myelitis, hemolytic anemia, coagulopathies, erythema multiforme, macular exanthems, vesicular exanthems, erythema nodosum, and urticaria.

Prognosis

  • With proper treatment, a full recovery is expected.
 
Acknowledgments

The authors and editors of eMedicine gratefully acknowledge the contributions of previous author, Santos Cantu Jr, MD, to the development and writing of this article.



More on Pneumonia, Mycoplasma

Overview: Pneumonia, Mycoplasma
Differential Diagnoses & Workup: Pneumonia, Mycoplasma
Treatment & Medication: Pneumonia, Mycoplasma
Follow-up: Pneumonia, Mycoplasma
References
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Further Reading

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Keywords

mycoplasma pneumonia, mycoplasmal pneumonia, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, M pneumoniae, CAP, community-acquired pneumonia, atypical pneumonia, sore chest, tracheal tenderness, dry cough, bullous myringitis, pharyngeal erythema, scratchy sore throat

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Contributor Information and Disclosures

Author

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

Medical Editor

Joseph A Salomone III, MD, EMS Medical Director, Kansas City, Missouri; Associate Professor and Staff Physician, Truman Medical Centers/UMKC School of Medicine
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.

Pharmacy Editor

Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD, Senior Pharmacy Editor, eMedicine
Disclosure: eMedicine Salary Employment

Managing Editor

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

CME Editor

John D Halamka, MD, MS, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; Chief Information Officer, CareGroup Healthcare System and Harvard Medical School; Attending Physician, Division of Emergency Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
John D Halamka, MD, MS is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Emergency Physicians, American Medical Informatics Association, Phi Beta Kappa, and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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.

 
 
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