Sigutė Liegiūtė1, Simona Bielskutė2, Ieva Rutkauskaitė2
1 Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Clinical Department of Family Medicine, Kaunas, Lithuania
2 Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Academy of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Kaunas, Lithuania
Abstract
One of the most common illnesses among children is upper respiratory tract infections. According to the literature, M. pneumoniae can cause around 20-40 percent, while C. pneumoniae up to 10 percent of all Community–acquired cases of pneumonia. Usually, the course of the disease is mild, however, around 18 percent of the cases require hospital treatment.
Aim: to analyze the latest literature about these atypical pathogens, to review clinical symptoms, diagnostics, and most common treatment methods.
Methods: the data was collected using PubMed, Google Scholar, and UpToDate databases. Keywords that were used: C. pneumoniae, M. pneumoniae, acute respiratory infections, atypical pathogens. 24 English articles were picked and analyzed.
Conclusion: the results have shown that differentiation between typical and atypical pathogens is still a hard task in a daily work of a doctor. When the symptoms remain after an usual medication has been prescribed, it is important to consider atypical pathogens. For a respiratory tract infection that is caused by atypical pathogens, Macrolides are usually prescribed.
Keywords: Chlamydia pneumoniae, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, atypical pathogens, respiratory tract infection.