Hospitalized MPP children with a higher abundance of Mycoplasma in the BAL fluid (BALF) microbiota tended to suffer longer hospitalization lengths and higher peak fevers and serum C-reactive protein levels.
Compared to patients with other definite and unknown etiologies, patients with MPP were significantly younger (41 +/- 16 versus 62 +/- 17 and 61 +/- 18 years), had fewer co-morbidities, presented with a less severe disease, showed a lower inflammatory response in terms of leukocyte counts (median 8850 versus 13200 and 11000 microL) and CRP values (60 versus 173 and 73 mg/L), and had better outcomes, including a shorter length of hospitalization (9 +/- 5 versus 14 +/- 11 and 12 +/- 9 days), fewer patients requiring mechanical ventilation (0.3 versus 4.5 and 2.1%), and a minimal mortality (0.7 versus 8.7 and 6.5%).