A fulminant case of acute respiratory distress syndrome associated with <i>Mycoplasma pneumoniae</i> infection

• Main Authors: Chaudhry Rama, Tabassum Irum, Kapoor Lata, Chhabra Anjolie, Sharma Nidhi, Broor Shobha
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2010-07-01
• Series: Indian Journal of Pathology and Microbiology
• Subjects: Acute respiratory distress syndrome; atypical pneumonia; mycoplasma; <i>M.pneumoniae</i>
• Online Access: http://www.ijpmonline.org/article.asp?issn=0377-4929;year=2010;volume=53;issue=3;spage=555;epage=557;aulast=Chaudhry
• ISSN: 0377-4929; 0974-5130

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) caused by mycoplasmas is very rare. This report describes a severe case of atypical pneumonia due to <i>M. pneumoniae</i> in a formerly healthy young woman who developed high grade fever and cough leading to severe disseminated lung disease and finally to fatal ARDS. This case came into picture when killer atypical pneumonia, namely, SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), spread very fast from South-Asian countries to the rest of the world. Moreover, the clinical presentation and radiologic features of SARS bear resemblance to the syndrome of atypical pneumonia, which lead us to investigate this case into detail. We suggest that <i>M. pneumoniae</i> infections should be included in the differential diagnosis of pathogens causing ARDS, establishing an early diagnosis may have important therapeutic implications.