Loens Katherine, Ieven Margareta
Department of Microbiology, National Reference Centre for Respiratory Pathogens, University Hospital Antwerp Antwerp, Belgium.
Front Microbiol. 2016 Mar 31;7:448. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2016.00448. eCollection 2016.
Mycoplasma pneumoniae (M. pneumoniae) belongs to the class Mollicutes and has been recognized as a common cause of respiratory tract infections (RTIs), including community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), that occur worldwide and in all age groups. In addition, M. pneumoniae can simultaneously or sequentially lead to damage in the nervous system and has been associated with a wide variety of other acute and chronic diseases. During the past 10 years, the proportion of LRTI in children and adults, associated with M. pneumoniae infection has ranged from 0 to more than 50%. This variation is due to the age and the geographic location of the population examined but also due to the diagnostic methods used. The true role of M. pneumoniae in RTIs remains a challenge given the many limitations and lack of standardization of the applied diagnostic tool in most cases, with resultant wide variations in data from different studies. Correct and rapid diagnosis and/or management of M. pneumoniae infections is, however, critical to initiate appropriate antibiotic treatment and is nowadays usually done by PCR and/or serology. Several recent reviews, have summarized current methods for the detection and identification of M. pneumoniae. This review will therefore provide a look at the general principles, advantages, diagnostic value, and limitations of the most currently used detection techniques for the etiological diagnosis of a M. pneumoniae infection as they evolve from research to daily practice.
肺炎支原体属于柔膜菌纲，是全球范围内各年龄组呼吸道感染（RTIs）的常见病因，包括社区获得性肺炎（CAP）。此外，肺炎支原体可同时或相继导致神经系统损害，并与多种其他急慢性疾病相关。在过去10年中，与肺炎支原体感染相关的儿童和成人下呼吸道感染（LRTI）比例从0%到超过50%不等。这种差异既与所研究人群的年龄和地理位置有关，也与所采用的诊断方法有关。鉴于大多数情况下应用的诊断工具存在诸多局限性且缺乏标准化，导致不同研究的数据差异很大，肺炎支原体在呼吸道感染中的真正作用仍然是一个挑战。然而，正确、快速地诊断和/或处理肺炎支原体感染对于启动适当的抗生素治疗至关重要，目前通常通过聚合酶链反应（PCR）和/或血清学检测来完成。最近的几篇综述总结了当前检测和鉴定肺炎支原体的方法。因此，本综述将探讨从研究到日常实践中，目前用于肺炎支原体感染病因诊断的最常用检测技术的一般原则、优点、诊断价值和局限性。
