What is a Mycoplasma Infection?

Mycoplasma is the smallest microorganism that survives outside the cell. It is a type of prokaryotic cell-type microorganism lacking a cell wall. The size is generally between 0.3 and 0.5um. It is highly polymorphic, and has spherical, rod-shaped, filamentous, and branched shapes. Kind of state. It is different from bacteria and viruses. It has a wide variety and is widely distributed, causing considerable harm. It involves humans, animals, plants, and insects, and has adverse effects on human health and scientific research. Of the 16 species of Mycoplasma isolated from the human body, 5 are pathogenic to humans, that is, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Mycoplasma urealyticum, Mycoplasma hominis, Mycoplasma genitalium and Mycoplasma fermentative mycoplasma are Mycoplasma urealyticum, Mycoplasma urealyticum, and Mycoplasma hominis is pathogenic to humans.

Basic Information

English name: Mycoplasma Infections
Visiting department: Respiratory Medicine, Urology
Common causes: Mycoplasma pneumonia causes pneumonia. Mycoplasma human, Mycoplasma urealyticum, and Mycoplasma genitalia cause urogenital infections.

Common symptoms: Urinary and genital infections include urinary tingling, urgency, and frequent urination; female cervical infections include increased vaginal discharge, turbidity, and cervical edema; respiratory infections are mainly coughing

Mycoplasma infection pathology and etiology

Among the pathogenic mycoplasma, mycoplasma pneumoniae causes pneumonia, and mycoplasma hominis, mycoplasma urealyticum, and mycoplasma genitalium mainly cause urogenital infections.

Mycoplasma pneumonia is also called primary atypical pneumonia. Mycoplasma pneumonia can occur throughout the year. It is more common in winter and can have small epidemics. Mycoplasma pneumonia is a common pneumonia in preschool children and young people. Mycoplasma pneumonia is mainly caused by droplets. Spread, with a long incubation period, up to 2 to 3 weeks. Although mycoplasma pneumonia has a longer course, heavier lung lesions, and slower absorption of inflammation, most of the prognosis is good. The pathogen is Mycoplasma pneumoniae, which is a medium Microorganisms between bacteria and viruses, no cell wall structure, facultative anaerobic, the smallest microorganism that can live independently. Healthy people inhale the patient's cough, sneeze, and nasal discharge. Pathogens usually exist between the ciliated epithelium of the respiratory tract and do not invade the lung parenchyma. Through the neuraminic acid receptor site on the cell membrane, they are adsorbed on the surface of the host's respiratory epithelial cells, inhibiting ciliary activity and destroying epithelial cells. There are also few comorbidities. Mycoplasma genitalis infection is a new sexually transmitted disease newly identified in recent years. Adults are mainly transmitted through sexual contact. Newborns are infected by the mother's reproductive tract during delivery. Adult men's infections are in the urethral mucosa and women's infections. In the cervix, newborns mainly cause conjunctivitis and pneumonia.

Mycoplasma infection clinical manifestations

Urogenital infection

Urogenital infections: The incubation period is 1 to 3 weeks. The typical acute symptoms are similar to other non-gonococcal genitourinary infections. They are characterized by urinary tingling, urgency and frequency of urination, and urination tingling, especially when urinating The solution is more concentrated when the solution is more concentrated, the urethral opening is slightly red and swollen, and the secretion is thin and small. It is serous or purulent. It takes more pressure to squeeze the urethra to see the secretion overflowing. There is a small amount of mucus secretion in the urethral opening in the morning. The material may only have a diaphragm seal, or see dirty crotch. The subacute phase is often accompanied by prostate infection. Patients often experience perineal pain, backache, discomfort in the inner side of both thighs, or diverge from the perineum to the inner thigh when performing anal lifting. Stinging,

Female patients often see inflammation of the reproductive system centered on the cervix. Most of them have no obvious symptoms. A few severe patients have a vaginal fall. When the infection spreads to the urethra, frequent urination and urgency are the main symptoms that cause the patient's attention. The infection is limited. In the cervix, there are increased leucorrhea, turbidity, cervical edema, congestion or surface erosion, and the spread of the infection to the urethra is shown as flushing of the urethra, congestion, and there may be a small amount of secretion from the urethra, but there is little tenderness.

2. Respiratory infections

Onset is slow, with an incubation period of 2 to 3 weeks. At the beginning of the disease, he has general discomfort, fatigue, and headache. Fever occurs after 2 to 3 days and body temperature often reaches about 39 ° C, which can last for 1 to 3 weeks, and may be accompanied by sore throat and muscle soreness.

Cough is a prominent symptom of the disease. It usually starts 2 to 3 days after the illness. It begins with a dry cough, and then changes to refractory severe cough, often with viscous sputum and occasionally bloodshot. A few cases can be similar to whooping cough. Can last 1 to 4 weeks. Pulmonary signs are not obvious or even absent. A few can hear dry and wet music. But many pieces disappeared, so the signs were inconsistent with clinical manifestations such as severe cough and fever, which is one of the characteristics of this disease. Infants and young children have an acute onset of illness, a long course of illness, and a more severe illness, manifested by dyspnea, wheezing, and wheezing sounds that are more prominent, with more snoring sounds in the lungs than older children. Some children may have extrapulmonary manifestations such as hemolytic anemia, meningitis, myocarditis, and Grimm-Balle syndrome.

Mycoplasma infection test

Blood routine

The total number of peripheral blood leukocytes was normal or slightly increased, mainly neutrophils.

2.X-ray inspection

Mycoplasma pneumonia chest radiography is non-specific, mostly unilateral inferior lobe infiltration, manifested as segmental pneumonia, and in severe cases, extensive bilateral pneumonia.

3. Etiological examination

Sputum, nose and throat swabs were cultured for Mycoplasma pneumoniae.

4. Serology

Serum pathogenic antibody titer> 1:32, streptococcal MG agglutination test, titer 1:40 is positive, and it is diagnostic value to increase by 4 times or more twice.

Two weeks after the onset, about two-thirds of the patients had a positive cold set test, and the titer titer was greater than 1:32, especially when the titer gradually increased, which had diagnostic value. About half of the patients were positive for the MG agglutination test. The further confirmation of the diagnosis relies on the determination of mycoplasma IgM antibodies in the serum (the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay is the most sensitive, the immunofluorescence method is specific, and the indirect hemagglutination method is more practical). Antigen detection can be performed by PCR, but the kit needs to be improved to improve sensitivity and specificity.

5.PCR technology

The detection of Chlamydia pneumoniae-specific DNA by common PCR technology has the advantages of rapidness, simplicity, and specificity, and its sensitivity is higher than that of cell separation technology. The sensitivity can be significantly improved by using nested PCR (nPCR) detection.

Mycoplasma infection diagnosis

Clinical symptoms such as headache, fatigue, myalgia, nasopharyngeal disease, cough, chest pain, purulent sputum and blood sputum, lung X-ray manifestations and laboratory tests such as the condensation test are helpful.

Differential diagnosis of mycoplasma infection

The disease must be distinguished from viral pneumonia and Legionella pneumonia. Positive pathogen isolation and serological tests are helpful for differential diagnosis. Peripheral blood eosinophils are normal, which is also distinguished from eosinophilic pulmonary infiltration.

Mycoplasma infection treatment

Early use of appropriate antibacterial drugs can reduce symptoms and shorten the course of the disease. The disease is self-limiting, and most cases can heal without treatment. Macrolides are preferred, such as erythromycin, roxithromycin, and azithromycin. Fluoroquinolones such as levofloxacin, gatifloxacin and moxifloxacin are also used in the treatment of mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia. The course of treatment is usually 2 to 3 weeks. Because Mycoplasma pneumoniae has no cell wall, antibacterial drugs such as penicillin or cephalosporins are not effective. For those with severe cough, antitussives should be given appropriately. If secondary bacterial infections occur, targeted antibacterial treatment can be used according to the sputum etiology examination.

The disease is self-limiting. Most cases can heal without treatment. Appropriate antibacterial drugs can reduce symptoms and shorten the course of the disease.

Erythromycin is preferred for treatment, and tetracycline antibiotics can also be used. Early use of appropriate antibiotics can reduce symptoms and shorten the course of the disease to 7 to 10 days.