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How to deal with the causative agent of Mycoplasma pneumonia?

Pneumonia Mycoplasma is one of pathogens of this disease. However, it is among the atypical (as is often the lung cause pneumonia pneumococci). Rare incidence causes the most cases of erroneous diagnosis and wrong plan of treatment. What is the pathogen and what it is?

shema pnevmonii

The essence of Mycoplasma

Mycoplasma pathogens of chronic infectious diseases of the respiratory system, and urogenital tract. They belong to the bacteria do not have cell walls. From the outside they are separated by only a thin cytoplasmic membrane. These bacteria are characterized by high metamorphic range: can change the features of its structure under the influence of certain external factors.

For the normal course of metabolic processes in the organism requires oxygen, that is a strict aerobe (dies in vacuum conditions). In nature, there are a huge number of subtypes of these bacteria, but for humans a certain danger is represented by two subtypes: mycoplasma pneumonia and mycoplasma genitalium (amaze respiratory and reproductive systems, respectively). Inflammation of the lung tissue causes mycoplasma pneumonia. What is characterized by inflammation caused by this bacterium?

Clinic Mycoplasma pneumonia

makrolidy dlya lecheniya pnevmoniiPneumonia - acute inflammation of the lung tissue. How can manifest itself is a disease caused by Mycoplasma? Mycoplasma pneumonia develops in 4% of cases. Its causative agent is highly contagious, so there is a great risk of infection after contact with a sick person. For Mycoplasma is characterized by the development of pneumonia in close groups, people for a long time in contact with each other. Because of this, the frequency of its occurrence among other species of inflammation of the lung tissue may increase to 30-32%.

The bacterium affects mainly young adults (usually up to 28-30 years of age) and children. Rarely is the illness caused by this pathogen in persons of working age and the elderly. The development of the disease may be preceded by prolonged respiratory infection (pharyngitis, bronchitis). Later it goes in the inflammatory process and has a lingering, although is not too hard. Once in the lungs, Mycoplasma causing development of inflammatory lesion either affects one or more pulmonary segments.

The disease may begin with a rise in temperature up to 37-38°C, accompanied by infectious symptoms of intoxication (headache, weakness, nausea, pain inmuscles and joints) and cough with expectoration of viscous sputum. In some cases, the temperature rise is not observed (e.g., in immunocompromised individuals or elderly), but for a long time there are symptoms of intoxication and painful coughs.

Diagnosis of Mycoplasma pneumonia

Despite the fact that modern medicine offers precise and informative methods of diagnosis of diseases of the respiratory organs, quite often atypical form of pneumonia was missed or misdiagnosed, which leads to the inappropriate prescription of antibiotics. First and foremost, you should carefully collect medical history and to identify the causes of the disease. You need to find out from the patient how long ago did his illness that preceded the development of any cold than he was treated, and does it give any effect.

analiz krovi dlya diagnostiki pnevmoniiFrom the data of objective examination of the patient the most important indicators will be listening to the wheezing auscultation certain lung segments, the dullness of percussion sound above the place of the projection area of inflammation. Mycoplasma pneumonia is most effectively detected by means of laboratory studies. All patients coming into the clinic or into the hospital, be sure to hand over the General analysis of blood and urine.

These analyses are not informative in the diagnosis of the pathogen, but establishes the presence of pathological process in the body. With the development of pneumonia in the blood, an increase in the number of leukocytes with a predominance of neutrophils, increased erythrocyte sedimentation rate. These figures indicate that in the body there is a bacterial infection.

Urine test in Mycoplasma pneumonia may be normal (it only changes if the presence of comorbidity). The main method for typing of the causative agent is serology. The analysis is taken venous blood of the patient, which is being examined for the presence of specific molecules of the immune system - immunoglobulins. These substances are responsible for the formation of immunity to the transferred diseases, for the implementation of immune response by direct infection.

In the early stages of the disease fails to reveal the immunoglobulin M (IgM) responsible for the prevention of infection and its suppression at the time of infection (that is, they appear in the acute phase of infection). Later immunoglobulin G (igg) indicative of the disease, but the role in the development of immune response they will play only in the case if the disease has caused strain Mycoplasma has already been covered early inbody.

X-ray examination is usually unhelpful in the early stages, as Mycoplasma pneumonia may be characterized by dissociation of radiographic progression and clinical manifestations (that is, the time difference in the appearance). A sputum culture on a nutrient medium does not provide sufficient possible number of information. It is pointless to conduct and research the smear under the microscope, as mycoplasmas are predominantly intracellular parasites.

How to treat mycoplasmal pneumonia?

Given the polymorphism of the organism, the peculiarities of its structure, should be competent and responsible approach to the selection of antibiotic therapy.

The absence of a cell wall in mycoplasmas is not very favorable for the treatment factor, as the majority of antibacterial agents aimed at the destruction of the receptor of the education, transformation of protein and its impact on the internal organelles of the germ. In this regard, for the treatment of Mycoplasma pneumonia you cannot use drugs from the group of penicillins, cephalosporins (as these antibiotics affect it in the cell wall).

Another adverse treatment factor is the fact that Mycoplasma is an intracellular parasite, whereby not all medications can have a direct impact.

The most effective first-line drugs that have a desired effect, are macrolides. This group of antibiotics has an influence on the synthesizing system of the bacterial cell, that is, prevents the formation of microbial protein. Due to this produced the so-called cytostatic effect (violated the processes of development and reproduction of the microbe). In addition, the funds have the ability to penetrate the affected cells to accumulate therein and at the expense of ribosomal synthesis to penetrate into the bacterial cells.

Prevention of Mycoplasma pneumonia

To prevent the development of this disease, you need to stick to a certain set of rules. It is the following:

  1. Immunization and hardening of the body. Due to the stimulation of the immune system increase protective properties of the organism, which prevents the penetration of microorganisms and their development.
  2. Avoidance of hypothermia. This factor is the main due to a weakening of the protective barriers.
  3. Early treatment of emerging symptoms of the disease and the consultation of a therapist and a pulmonologist.

Knowing about the pathogenesis of the disease, its prevention, you can easily avoid the development of pneumonia or to take timely appropriate action.