Efficacy of low-dose methylprednisolone combined with azithromycin in the treatment of children with Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia
MIAO Xueyu
HU Ting
DENG Fuyan
XIE Zhongmin
XU Zhe
Abstract：Objective To investigate the effect of low-dose methylprednisolone in combination with azithromycin on lung function and the levels of inflammatory factors in children with Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia(MPP).Methods A total of 90 children with MPP treated at the Third People's Hospital of Yibin from February 2022 to February 2024 were selected and randomly divided into a observation group(n=45,treated with azithromycin combined with low-dose methylprednisolone)and a control group(n=45,treated with azithromycin alone).The lung function parameters,inflammatory markers,time to symp-tom relief,duration of hospitalization,therapeutic efficacy,and incidence of adverse reactions were compared between the two groups after one course of treatment.Results After treatment,children in the observation group demonstrated a peak expiratory flow of(4.02±0.61)L/s,forced vital capacity of(1.92±0.33)L,forced expiratory volume in one second of(1.68±0.25)L,and an FEV1/FVC ratio of(87.46±4.91)%,all of which were significantly higher than those in the control group((3.50±0.55)L/s,(1.73±0.31)L,(1.45±0.23)L,(84.15±4.52)%,respectively)(t=4.247,2.815,4.542,3.327,all P<0.05).The observation group exhibited lower levels of interleukin-6((18.53±3.21)pg/mL),tumor necrosis factor-α((12.61±2.15)pg/mL),and C-reactive protein((8.31±1.41)mg/L)compared with the control group((28.34±3.26)pg/mL,(21.43±3.21)pg/mL,and(15.73±2.09)mg/L,respectively)(t=14.384,15.332,19.743,all P<0.05).The observation group had shorter defervescence time((8.11±0.93)d),time to cough relief((9.23±1.17)d),time to resolution of pulmonary signs((10.57±1.36)d),and length of hospital stay((13.81±1.54)d)than the control group((12.54±1.21),(13.04±1.29),(14.89±1.96),and(16.94±1.69)d,respectively)(t=19.473,14.676,12.148,9.183,all P<0.05).The overall effective rates were 95.56%(43/45)in the observation group and 80.00%(36/45)in the control group,with a statistically significant difference(χ²=5.075,P=0.024).There was no statistically significant differ-ence in the incidence of adverse reactions between the two groups(24.44%(11/45)vs 15.56%(7/45),χ²=1.111,P=0.292).Conclusion The combination therapy demonstrates superior clinical efficacy in managing MPP,effectively improving pulmo-nary function and reducing inflammation in pediatric patients,with fewer adverse reactions.
Keywords：Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumoniamethylprednisoloneazithromycinpulmonary functioninflamma-tory factors
Publication Date：2026-03-25
Online Publishing Date：2026-04-07(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：5( 315-319 )