Fever is a common reason for neonates and young infants to undergo medical evaluation in the hospital or ambulatory setting. For this age-group (0-3 mo), fever without a focus refers to a rectal temperature of 38°C (100.4°F) or greater, without other…
The Need for Improvement in Quality and Value Adults and children only receive recommended evidence-based care about half the time. The gap between knowledge and practice widens to a chasm in part because of variations in practice and disparities in…
Microbiology Members of the family Mycoplasmataceae are small pleomorphic bacteria that characteristically lack a cell wall. Shapes range from filamentous to spherical, with diameters up to 0.8 μm. The genus Ureaplasma is biochemically unique in that all members possess urease…
Many Mollicutes colonize the mucosal surfaces of humans ( Table 197.1 ). Of these, only Mycoplasma genitalium , M. hominis , M. pneumoniae (see Chapter 196 ) , and Ureaplasma urealyticum (see Chapter 198 ) are known to be pathogenic…
Description of the Pathogen Mycoplasma pneumoniae is a member of the class Mollicutes, which includes bacterial pathogens and commensals found in many animals and plants. These pathogens comprise the smallest self-replicating prokaryotes known to cause infection in humans. M. pneumoniae…
The Pathogen Chlamydiae are obligate intracellular pathogens, which former genus Chlamydia pneumoniae has been reclassified (somewhat controversially ) through genome sequencing and comparative analysis of the ribosomal operon to Chlamydophila pneumoniae, with three biovars—human (TWAR), koala, and equine. Still controversial,…
Acknowledgment The authors acknowledge previous contributions of Dennis Murray and Chitra Mani to this chapter. Pneumonia , a Greek word meaning “inflammation of the lungs,” is the most common cause of morbidity and mortality in infants and children due to…