Detecting Mycoplasma pneumoniae infections in nasopharyngeal specimens from Paediatric patients with asthma exacerbations in Baghdad: A Polymerase Chain Reaction – Gene based study

• Published in: The Egyptian journal of medical human genetics 2018-04, Vol.19 (2), p.117-121
• Main Authors: Al-Janabi, Muhi Kadhem Wannas, Ali, Saad Hasan Mohammed, Nasir, Nadia Aziz, Wehby, Muhammed
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Age; Allergens; Asthma; Atopy; Chest; Children; Consanguinity; Cough; Deoxyribonucleic acid; Dermatitis; DNA; Exacerbation; Family medical history; Females; Fever; Food allergies; Infections; Mycoplasma pneumonia; Mycoplasma pneumoniae; Passive smoking; Pediatrics; Pharynx; Pneumonia; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Rural areas; Seasonal variations; Studies; Viral infections
• ISSN: 1110-8630; 2090-2441
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmhg.2017.08.003

Numerous viral infections have triggered acute asthma exacerbations. Despite the fact that diagnosis of M. pneumoniae infection is based on sero-prevalence studies but molecular diagnostic techniques, such as PCR, have offered improvements in sensitivity, specificity and rapidity over the latest methods. The aim of this molecular study is to determine the infection rates of M. pneumoniae in acute asthma exacerbation in a group of Iraqi children from Baghdad and also to examine the correlation of the disease with different variable characteristics and symptoms. This study included 94 children between 2 and 13years old; Fifty in-patient asthmatic children and 44 non-asthmatic children as control group who were out-patients of the same hospital. Throat and nasal swab samples were taken for DNA extraction and PCR procedures. PCR results show that 33.3% asthmatic patients were positive for M. pneumoniae while 66.7% were negative (p