Correspondence

Images in Clinical Medicine: Mycoplasma pneumoniae

N Engl J Med 1995; 332:1306May 11, 1995

Article

To the Editor:

In the November 24 issue of the Journal, 1 the legend below the elegant scanning electron micrograph of Mycoplasma pneumoniae states that the organism is “probably the most common cause of community-acquired pneumonia.” This statement, which has important therapeutic implications, is incorrect. In a review article published in 1994, Marrie2 concluded that the cause of the majority of cases of community-acquired pneumonia is unproved. Although outpatients seem to have a higher incidence of M. pneumoniae infection than inpatients, the chief threat remains Streptococcus pneumoniae in both groups, and treatment options must be weighed with this in mind.

Stephen Gordon, M.D.
University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2JF, United Kingdom

2 References

1. 1

   Phillips MD. Mycoplasma pneumoniae. N Engl J Med 1994;331:1421-1421
   Full Text | Web of Science | Medline

2. 2

   Marrie TJ. Community-acquired pneumonia. Clin Infect Dis 1994;18:501-515
   CrossRef | Web of Science | Medline

Citing Articles (2)

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   H. James Williams, Michael H. Weisman, Charles C. Berry. (1997) Breast implants in patients with differentiated and undifferentiated connective tissue disease. Arthritis & Rheumatism 40:3, 437-440
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2. 2

   Fuchs, Howard, Johnson, John S., Sergent, John S., . (1995) Still More on Breast Implants and Connective-Tissue Diseases. New England Journal of Medicine 333:8, 526-526
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