The prevalence of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection in patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia hospitalized in intensive care unit

Background: Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is a type of hospital acquired pneumonia with the mortality rate between 27% and 76% that develops more than 48–72 h after endotracheal intubation. Possible causes leading to this infection can be Mycoplasma pneumoniae. The objective of this study was to determine the presence of Mycoplasma pneumoniae in bronchoalveolar samples of patients with VAP who admitted in the intensive care unit (ICU). Materials and methods: In this cross-sectional study, 103 bronchoalveolar lavage samples were collected from VAP patients who admitted to ICU in Loghman, Erfan Niyayesh and Erfan Hospitals. Then, samples were investigated for presence of Mycoplasma pneumoniae using nested-PCR method with 16S rRNA gene. Results: 4 (3.9%) patients were positive for Mycoplasma pneumoniae. There was a significant relationship between the positive infectious agents with clinical signs (P=0.017) and the duration of using ventilator (P=0.043). Conclusion: The results of this study, as a first study in Iran, showed that Mycoplasma pneumoniae can be considered as true pathogens of the respiratory tract in patients with VAP and should be given more attention. To confirm the results of this study, further research is needed to reveal the association of this bacterium with VAP.