The first day of school – an experience that many remember for the rest of their lives. But six and a half year old Paul from Aßling in the Ebersberg district missed it. The reason: severe, atypical pneumonia. It later turns out that the cause is Mycoplasma pneumoniae.
Child seriously ill: The mother has never experienced anything like this
At the beginning of September, on the way back from the family camping holiday in Croatia: Paul has a headache. At home the next day I had a violent cough, dry and without mucus. Plus a high fever. Nevertheless, his mother Christine doesn’t think anything serious at first. Finally, her eleven-year-old daughter also had a very bad cough and a slightly elevated temperature ten days ago. After five days she was healthy again – without a doctor or medication.
But it doesn’t stop with Paul. Christine is used to a lot because Paul had RSV, a serious respiratory infection, when he was eleven months old. The baby was in the hospital for a week and was given artificial oxygen. But Christine has never experienced her child being so sick and it scares her. After four days she goes to the pediatrician with Paul. She diagnoses pneumonia and prescribes the antibiotic amoxicillin. According to the pediatrician, Paul should be feeling better after two days. But it doesn’t get any better.
Child goes to the emergency room with oxygen deficiency
At home, Christine notices that Paul isn’t getting enough oxygen. She sees Paul’s skin over his collarbones and ribs becoming severely pulled in – a typical sign of oxygen deprivation. She uses a pulse oximeter to measure the oxygen content in the blood. As an MTA, she knows: the optimal level of saturation in the blood is between 95 and 99 percent. If the value is below 93 percent, you need to see a doctor.
Paul’s value is only 88 percent. And he breathes shallowly and quickly. Over 30 times per minute – the normal value for children is a maximum of 24 times per minute. Christine takes Paul to the emergency room at Ebersberg Hospital.
Mycoplasma pneumoniae – the most common symptoms
The doctors there immediately suspected Mycoplasma pneumoniae. The disease is difficult to recognize. The common symptoms are often similar to a cold: mild fever, fatigue, sore throat and cough. In most cases the disease heals on its own.
However, Mycoplasma pneumoniae can also cause severe symptoms like Paul’s. According to Rolf Kaiser from the University Hospital of Cologne, such serious cases have been increasing since early summer 2024, especially among children. Overall, experts warn against scaremongering. The disease is no more common than before the corona pandemic.
Only special antibiotics help against mycoplasma
Paul is referred to the Rosenheim Clinic. After doctors are sure he doesn’t have Covid-19 or RSV, he is tested for Mycoplasma pneumoniae. This requires a nasopharyngeal swab. The swab must then be examined in the laboratory, which can take at least two days.
The diagnosis is important because only special antibiotics help against this atypical pneumonia. Unlike other bacteria, mycoplasmas do not have cell walls. The usual antibiotics that attack the cell walls are therefore ineffective. That’s why the pediatrician’s administration of amoxicillin didn’t help Paul either. But this is the good news: There are special antibiotics that work against mycoplasma.
Seriously ill for two weeks and missed the first day of school
Paul has to stay in the hospital. The six-year-old immediately receives an antibiotic that is effective against mycoplasma. He also receives additional oxygen through his nose and has to be on a drip because he lacks fluids. Doctors say the oxygen level should return to normal within 24 hours. Paul recovers, the fever goes away.
But the oxygen level remains bad. Paul is in the hospital for six days, and his oxygen level drops every night. So Paul misses his very first day of school. But then the therapy is finally successful. A week after school started, Paul is healthy and is allowed to go to first grade.
