The clinical characteristics of Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia and its relationship between hypokalemia in west China

BACKGROUND: Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MP) is one of the most common respiratory pathogens of community acquired pneumonia (CAP) in children. The purpose of this study was to identify epidemics of Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (MPP) and to determine the relationship between hypokalemia and MPP. METHODS: This study was retrospectively conducted from 1 August 2016 to 31 July 2018 at Bishan People’s Hospital in Chongqing, China. We analyzed the demographic characteristics (age, gender), extra-pulmonary manifestations, fever duration, length of hospital stay, whole blood cell (WBC) count, C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels. RESULTS: The total number of children with pneumonia was 3,385, including 570 (16.84%) patients in the MP infection group. The male-to-female ratio was 1.34:1. The peak time of MPP incidence was in autumn. The MP infection group had a significantly higher ratio of fever, higher body temperature, and longer fever duration. The number of MP-infected patients with hypokalemia was highest in spring. The length of hospital stay in the mild hypokalemia group was longer than in the normokalemia group. Furthermore, severe hypokalemia cases were all in the severe MP infection group, and the severity of MP infection and hypokalemia were positively correlated. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, we concluded that children infected with MP were more susceptible to fever, and had a longer duration of fever. The number of MP-infected patients with mild hypokalemia peaked in spring, and affected more boys than girls. Furthermore, patients with severe hypokalemia had longer fever duration, and a correlation was found between the severity of MP infection and hypokalemia.