Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Mycoplasmoides pneumoniae
Diagnosis of infections due to Mycoplasmoides pneumoniae
Specimen source is required.
Swab Collection Instructions:
1. Collect specimen by swabbing back and forth over mucosa surface to maximize recovery of cells.
2. Place swab back into swab cylinder.
This assay should only be used for testing of respiratory tract specimens (throat swabs, nasopharyngeal swabs, tracheal secretions, sputum, and bronchoalvelor lavage fluid) and pleural/chest fluid, pericardial fluid and cerebrospinal fluid.
Mycoplasmoides pneumoniae, previously Mycoplasma pneumoniae, is a small bacterium transmitted via organism-containing droplets. It is a cause of upper respiratory infection, pharyngitis, and tracheobronchitis, particularly in children, and has been associated with approximately 20% of cases of community acquired pneumonia. Central nervous system and cardiac manifestations are probably the most frequent extrapulmonary complications of infections due to M pneumoniae. The disease is usually self-limited although severe disease has been reported in immunocompromised patients.
Identification of M pneumoniae by culture-based methods is time consuming and insensitive. Serology based assays for M pneumoniae have several drawbacks. The development of IgM antibodies takes approximately 1 week and the IgM response in adults may be variable or it may be decreased in immunosuppressed individuals. Confirmation of the disease may be dependent on the observation of a 4-fold rise in IgG antibody titers between acute and convalescent specimens, several weeks following the initial onset of illness, providing clinical utility only for retrospective testing. Real-time polymerase chain reaction testing offers a rapid and sensitive option for detection of M pneumoniae DNA from clinical specimens.
A positive result indicates the presence of Mycoplasmoides pneumoniae
A negative result does not rule out the presence of M pneumoniae and may be due to the presence of inhibitors within the specimen matrix, or the presence of organisms at numbers below of detection of the assay.