Wheeze and Mycoplasma pneumoniae

Abstract

There is increasing interest in whether the atypical organisms Mycoplasma pneumoniae and Chlamydia pneumoniae can cause exacerbations of asthma1,2. I describe four previously fit non-asthmatic patients who developed severe wheeze and airways obstruction in association with M. pneumoniae and who made a full recovery. When atypical asthma is associated with systemic symptoms the differential diagnosis should include M. pneumoniae infection.