Clinical characteristics and risk factors of Fulminant Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia in children

Abstract BACKGROUND: Analyze the clinical characteristics of Fulminant Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (FMPP), and explore the related factors predicting FMPP. METHODS: A retrospective case-control study was performed on 345 children with Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (MPP) hospitalized in our Hospital from January 2017 to June 2019. The clinical features, laboratory data and radiological findings were compared between the FMPP group, refractory Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (RMPP)group and general Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (GMPP) group. RESULTS: FMPP patients (n=69) had more severe presentations, higher incidence of extra-pulmonary complications and more serious radiological findings(P<0.05). And the days of fever and the days in hospital were longer, and FMPP patients also need more complicated treatments(P<0.05). Meanwhile, the levels of white blood cell count(WBC) ,C-reactive protein(CRP), lactic dehydrogenase (LDH), interleukin (IL)-6,ferritin, D-dimer, fibrinogen(FG),alanine aminotransferase(ALT) and the percentage of neutrophils in the FMPP group were significantly higher than those in the RMPP group and the GMPP group (both P<0.05). In ROC curve analysis, the percentage of neutrophils, WBC, CRP, LDH, IL-6, ferritin, D-dimer and ALT were contributed to identify FMPP patients. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that ferritin>174.15 ng/mL, IL-6>25.475pg/ml and pleural effusion had significant predictive effects on the early diagnosis of FMPP (P<0.01). Conclusion: FMPP patients presented more serious clinical manifestations. Ferritin>174.15 ng/mL, IL-6>25.475pg/ml and pleural effusion were high risk factors for FMPP.