Neurological Complications of Mycoplasma pneumoniae Infection in Children

Objective: One of the most common extra pulmonary diseases of Mycoplasma pneumoniae is neurologic disorders. It may cause neurological diseases such as meningitis, meningoencephalitis, cerebellitis, polyneuropathy, acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM), stroke, transverse myelitis, Guillain-Barre syndrome, myasthenia gravis (MG), peripheral neuropathy. Although the pathogenesis of M. pneumoniae-associated neurological diseases cannot be fully elucidated, it is thought to be mediated by immune mediated or direct invasion of the microorganism. In this study, nine children with M. pneumoniae associated different neurological involvement were presented. Material and Methods: Patients with serum M. pneumoniae immunoglobulin M (IgM) positive were retrospectively reviewed. Demographic, clinic, laboratory and imaging results of patients with central nervous system involvement were evaluated. Results: Neurological disorders was detected in 12 of 107 patients with serum M. pneumoniae IgM positive.Three patients were excluded due to pre-existing neurological disorders. Four of the patients with neurological involvement were female and five were male. Age of the patients was between 3-12 years. Four cases were aseptic meningitis, one case meningoencephalitis, one case ADEM, one case cerebellitis, one case cerebellar ataxia, one case MG. Conclusion: Although M. pneumoniae is known as the main respiratory pathogen, it also causes a variety of neurological disorders. M. pneumoniae should be investigated in patients with neurological involvement whether or not there are signs and symptoms of the respiratory system.