Therapeutic effect of methylprednisolone combined with azithromycin on severe mycoplasma pneumonia in children and its impact on lung function

HAO Hongfei; TAO Peipei

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1002-7386.2024.22.018

Abstract：Objective To investigate the efficacy of methylprednisolone combined with azithromycin on severe mycoplasma pneumonia in children and its impact on lung function.Methods A total of 116 children with severe mycoplasma pneumonia admitted to Nanjing Tongren Hospital,Affiliated Hospital of Medical College of Southeast University from January 2020 to January 2022 were selected.They were randomly divided into the control group(azithromycin)and observation group(methylprednisolone combined with azithromycin),with 58 cases in each group.The disappearance time of symptoms,length of stay,lung function,immunoglobulin levels,inflammatory factors,and incidence of adverse events were compared between the two groups.Results Compared with the control group,children the observation group had a shorter recovery time for clinical symptoms of fever,cough,and lung rales(P＜0.05).After treatment,children in the observation group showed higher volume that has been exhaled at the end of the first second of forced expiration(FEV1),forced vital capacity(FVC),and FEV1/FVC values than the control group(P＜0.05).IL-6,CRP,and TNF-α levels in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group(P＜0.05).Additionally,the immunoglobulin levels in the observation group were significantly higher than those in the control group(P＜0.05).There was no significant difference in the incidence of adverse events(rash,abdominal pain,mild anemia,nausea,vomiting)between the two groups(13.79％vs.8.62％,x2=0.780,P＞0.05).Conclusion Methylprednisolone combined with azithromycin is more effective than azithromycin alone in treating severe mycoplasma pneumonia in children.The combined treatment significantly improves symptoms such as fever and cough,enhances lung function,reduces inflammation,and shortens recovery time.