Early diagnosis of Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia: Development and validation of a predictive model based on clinical examination indicators
Yongwei Fan, Jingrun Zhou, Zhaoxi Wang, Huaqin Pan, Jiarui Zhang, Ling Wang, Guqin Zhang
Abstract
Mycoplasma pneumoniae accounts for a significant proportion of pathogens responsible for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). Identifying Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (MPP) is challenging but essential for guiding early and appropriate antibiotic use.
Introduction
Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a lower respiratory tract infection occurring outside of hospital settings. Epidemiological data indicate that it remains a major cause of hospitalization and mortality worldwide [1,2].
Materials and methods
The patient data used in this study were obtained from adult individuals hospitalized at Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University with a diagnosis of CAP between 01/01/2023, and 31/12/2023. Eligible patients were classified into two groups based on the results of etiological testing and diagnoses confirmed by two senior physicians.
Results
A total of 244 patients with CAP, whose infections were attributed to either M. pneumoniae or other bacteria, were enrolled in this study.
Discussion
Distinguishing Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (MPP) from bacterial pneumonia in the early stages presents a common clinical challenge that significantly affects the selection and efficacy of empirical antibiotic treatment.
Conclusion
Our findings identified several key indicators, including younger age, elevated serum albumin and complement C1q levels, normal procalcitonin levels, and shorter thrombin time, that are strongly associated with MPP.
Citation: Fan Y, Zhou J, Wang Z, Pan H, Zhang J, Wang L, et al. (2026) Early diagnosis of Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia: Development and validation of a predictive model based on clinical examination indicators. PLoS One 21(10): e0359335. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0359335
Editor: Benjamin M. Liu, Children's National Hospital, George Washington University, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Received: November 26, 2024; Accepted: September 11, 2026; Published: October 5, 2026
Copyright: © 2026 Fan et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Data Availability: All relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files.
Funding: The author(s) received no specific funding for this work.
Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Source: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0359335#sec022
