Epidemiological relationship between Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia and recurrent wheezing episode in children: an observational study at a single hospital in Korea

Objective: This study was aimed to evaluate epidemiological and clinical relationship between MP infection and childhood recurrent wheezing episode (RWE). Design: Retrospective case note review. Setting: Paediatric department at a single Korean institution. Participants: Consecutive admitted patients with MP pneumonia and RWE (0-15 years of age) between 2003 and 2014. Methods: The retrospective medical records of patients with MP pneumonia (n=793 for epidemiological analysis and n=501 for clinical analysis) and those with RWE (n=384) from 2003 to 2014 were analyzed. Diagnosis of MP pneumonia was made based on 2-times titration of IgM antibody during hospitalization. An RWE patient was defined as one with expiratory wheezing with at least one or more wheezing episodes based on medical records. Results: During 3 MP pneumonia epidemics, there were no corresponding increases of patients with RWE in the epidemic years. In the 501 MP pneumonia patients, 52 (10.4%) had wheezing at presentation...