Epidemiological relationship between Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia and recurrent wheezing episode in children: an observational study at a single hospital in Korea

OBJECTIVE: This study was aimed to evaluate epidemiological and clinical relationship between Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MP) infection and childhood recurrent wheezing episode (RWE). DESIGN: Retrospective case note review. SETTING: Paediatric department at a single Korean institution. PARTICIPANTS: Consecutive admitted patients with MP pneumonia and RWE (0–15 years of age) between 2003 and 2014. METHODS: The retrospective medical records of patients with (MP) pneumonia (n=793 for epidemiological analysis and n=501 for clinical analysis) and those with RWE (n=384) from 2003 to 2014 were analysed. Diagnosis of MP pneumonia was made based on two-times titration of IgM antibody during hospitalisation. An RWE patient was defined as one with expiratory wheezing with at least one or more wheezing episodes based on medical records. RESULTS: During three MP pneumonia epidemics, there were no corresponding increases of patients with RWE in the epidemic years. In the 501 MP pneumonia patients, 52 (10.4%) had wheezing at presentation and 15 (3%) had RWE. The MP pneumonia patients with wheezing at presentation (n=52) were younger and were more likely to have an allergic disease history than those without wheezing (n=449). Among wheezing patients at presentation, 10 patients had previously RWE history. In a follow-up study, 13 patients (including 5 RWE) with initial wheezing and 25 patients (including 2 RWE) without wheezing had wheezy episodes after discharge. Among the total 501 patients, it was estimated that at least 31 MP pneumonia patients (6.2%) showed recurrent wheezing after initial MP infection. CONCLUSIONS: A small part of children with MP pneumonia showed recurrent wheezing after MP pneumonia, and patients with RWE had a greater likelihood of experiencing wheezing when they had an initial MP infection. However, there were no increased admitted patients with RWE in MP pneumonia epidemic periods because of rarity of MP reinfection in children including patients with RWE or asthma.