Underdiagnosing of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infections as revealed by use of a respiratory multiplex PCR panel

Alexander Dalpke; Stefan Zimmermann; Paul Schnitzler

doi:10.1016/j.diagmicrobio.2016.06.013

Underdiagnosing of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infections as revealed by use of a respiratory multiplex PCR panel

Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis. 2016 Sep;86(1):50-2. doi: 10.1016/j.diagmicrobio.2016.06.013. Epub 2016 Jun 17.

Authors

Alexander Dalpke¹, Stefan Zimmermann², Paul Schnitzler³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Infectious Diseases, Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany; Translational Lung Research Center (TLRC), Member of the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Heidelberg, Germany. Electronic address: [email protected].
² Department of Infectious Diseases, Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
³ Department of Infectious Diseases, Virology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.

Abstract

We compared a multiplex PCR diagnostic approach against specific PCR diagnosis for detection of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection. Seventy-five percent of all M. pneumoniae infections were only detected "unintentionally" by the use of the multiplex PCR indicating underdiagnosing of M. pneumoniae due to absence of clinical suspicion.

Keywords: Molecular diagnostics; Multiplex PCR; Mycoplasma pneumoniae; Respiratory infections.

Publication types

Evaluation Study

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Child
Child, Preschool
Humans
Infant
Infant, Newborn
Middle Aged
Molecular Diagnostic Techniques / methods*
Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction / methods*
Mycoplasma pneumoniae / isolation & purification*
Pneumonia, Mycoplasma / diagnosis*
Pneumonia, Mycoplasma / epidemiology*
Pneumonia, Mycoplasma / microbiology
Respiratory Tract Infections / diagnosis*
Respiratory Tract Infections / epidemiology*
Respiratory Tract Infections / microbiology
Sensitivity and Specificity
Young Adult