Mycoplasma is a disease in the upper and lower respiratory tracts. It is one of the members of Mollicutes class which also includes Ureaplasma.

Mycoplasma genus has >100 species to cause various symptoms and infections in humans.

Mycoplasmas lack cell walls and has spherical to filamentous cell structure with attachment organelles on filamentous M pneumoniae and M genitalium.

Mycoplasmas are small self-replicating organisms with small genome and low guanine and cytosine content. They live outside cells in respiratory and urogenital areas.

Scientists have isolated 17 species of Mycoplasma from the human body, out of those four types of organisms are responsible for clinical infections.

These four species are:

Mycoplasma pneumoniae

Mycoplasma hominis

Mycoplasma genitalium

Ureaplasma species

They commonly cause atypical pneumonia because of their lack of response to antibiotics.

More than 2 million cases of mycoplasma infections occur annually. It causes 20% of hospitalized and more non-hospitalized community-acquired pneumonias.

Mycoplasma endemic in cities, epidemics every 3 to 7 years, incidence fluctuates annually in urban areas. The infections in Japan, Europe, and the US can be endemic or epidemic.

It is second to S pneumoniae for elderly bacterial pneumonia hospitalizations. Children with sickle cell disease and asplenia may face higher pneumonia risks.

There is misunderstanding about mycoplasma is uncommon in very young and older populations leads physicians to overlook it in respiratory infection diagnoses.

Pneumonia rare in infected and acute pharyngitis possible complication. Organism attaches to host cells in respiratory tract after inhalation.

It produces exotoxin believed to cause damage to respiratory epithelium during acute infection.

Organism can survive and reproduce inside cells, that occurs chronicity and treatment resistance.

Household infections are common, but person-to-person spread slower than many bacterial respiratory infections.

Organism can last in respiratory tract for months, or years in immunosuppressed patient post-infection.

Causes of mycoplasma as:

Lack of Cell Wall

Respiratory Droplets

Pathogenesis

Adhesion

Pleomorphism

Small Genome

Transmission

Immune Evasion

Mycoplasma respiratory infection treated successfully with oral antibiotics in outpatient.

Elderly, infants, and immunocompromised struggle to recover from organism illness.

Reports of fulminant infection in healthy persons causes fatalities.

Clinical History:

Mycoplasma infections affect individuals of all age groups, but in the age group of 5 to 40 years old it occurs more.

Physical examination

Joint examination

Respiratory examination

For respiratory Infections:

Low-grade fever, malaise, headache, and sore throat

For urogenital Infections:

Dysuria and urethral discharge

For systemic infections:

Fever, fatigue, and weight loss

Management based on syndrome, not organism, for community-acquired pneumonia determines hospitalization or outpatient care.

The right treatment for pneumonia speeds up recovery, despite continued presence of organisms.

Physicians treat community-acquired pneumonia with empirically covers multiple bacterial agents since microbiologic diagnosis is rarely immediate.

A group of doctors and managed care organizations created management algorithms with decision trees for diagnostics and antimicrobial treatment.

Patient ability to tolerate oral medication, signs of hypoxia/toxicity, immunosuppression these factors assessed for potential bacteremia pneumonia.

Infectious Disease

Proper indoor humidity and ventilation should maintain to reduce the chances of airborne pathogens.

Use HEPA air purifiers in high-risk areas for immunocompromised individuals. Good hygiene practices should follow to reduce risk of infection.

Disinfect/surface cleaning should be done of frequently touched surfaces such as doorhandles and light switches.

Proper education and awareness about mycoplasma should be provided and its related causes, and how to stop it with management strategies.

Appointments with a physician and preventing recurrence of disorder is an ongoing life-long effort.

Infectious Disease

Erythromycin:

It inhibits bacterial growth to cause RNA-dependent protein synthesis to arrest.

Azithromycin:

It inhibits protein synthesis in bacterial cells that bind with 50S subunit of bacterial ribosomes.

Infectious Disease

Doxycycline:

It inhibits protein synthesis and bacterial growth that binds to 30S ribosomal subunits of susceptible bacteria.

Infectious Disease

Levofloxacin:

It inhibits subunits of DNA gyrase in inhibition of bacterial DNA replication and transcription.

Infectious Disease

Bronchoscopy is performed to visualize the airways and collect samples from the lower respiratory tract.

Infectious Disease

In the diagnosis phase, evaluation of medical history, laboratory test and imaging studies to confirm diagnosis.

Pharmacologic therapy is very effective in the treatment phase as it includes use of antibiotic therapy and intervention if required.

In supportive care and management phase, patients should receive required attention such as lifestyle modification and rehabilitation.

The regular follow-up visits with the physician are schedule to check the improvement of patients along with treatment response