Human adenovirus Coinfection aggravates the severity of Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia in children

BACKGROUND: Mycoplasma pneumoniae (M. pneumoniae) is an important pathogen of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in children. The coinfection rate of M. pneumoniae pneumonia (MPP) can reach 52% in some areas, but the effects of coinfection with different pathogens have not been clearly recognized. METHODS: The cases of MPP hospitalized in Beijing Children’s Hospital from 1/1/2014 to 12/31/2016 were screened. MPP patients coinfected with Human adenovirus (HAdV) were categorized into the research group. Patients with single M. pneumoniae infection were categorized into the control group, matching the research group by age and admission time with a ratio of 1:3. Clinical manifestations, laboratory examinations, and disease severity were compared between these two groups. RESULTS: A total of 2540 hospitalized MPP cases were screened in Beijing Children’s Hospital, among which thirty cases were enrolled in the research group and ninety cases were enrolled in the control group. The results indicated that patients in the research group had longer hospital stays, longer fever durations and a higher rate of dyspnea, as well as a larger proportion applications of oxygen therapy and noninvasive continuous positive airway pressure (NCPAP). No obvious differences were found in lab examinations within the two groups. Regarding disease severity, the proportions of extremely severe pneumonia and severe disease defined by the clinical score system were higher in the research group than in the control group. CONCLUSION: Compared with single M. pneumoniae infection, MPP coinfected with HAdV in children was relatively more serious.