CASE REPORT article
Front. Pediatr.
Sec. Pediatric Pulmonology
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fped.2025.1520021
Positive Mycoplasma pneumoniae IgM Does Not Necessarily Indicate Acute Infection: Two Case Studies
Provisionally accepted
- 1Maternal and Child Health Hospital of Hubei Province, Wuhan, China
- 2Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China
- 3Hubei Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Wuhan, China
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Background: We aimed to explore the duration of IgM antibodies against Mycoplasma pneumoniae. Methods: Data from two children who consistently tested positive for M. pneumoniae IgM antibodies were retrospectively analyzed. Moreover, we examined the etiological data and drug use of these cases. Serologic testing using the colloidal gold method, direct chemiluminescence technique, and specific immune agglutination test were utilized. Quantitative PCR was used to detect M. pneumoniae in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and antigen tests and nucleic acid detection were conducted for other respiratory pathogens. Results: The serological positivity of M. pneumoniae IgM antibody persisted for nearly ten months in one child and more than fifteen months in the other child. Furthermore, the persistently positive M. pneumoniae IgM antibody tests led to the inappropriate use of macrolides during multiple hospitalizations. Conclusions: IgM antibodies against M. pneumoniae may remain positive for an extended duration. Therefore, a positive Mycoplasma pneumoniae IgM test does not necessarily indicate the presence of an acute infection.
Keywords: Pneumonia, Immunoglobulin M, microbial infection, Drug Resistance, Macrolides, case report
Received: 30 Oct 2024; Accepted: 09 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Liu, Wu, Cao, Liu and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Xiaoying Liu, Hubei Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Wuhan, China
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