Mycoplasma exanthem in Adult
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Synopsis
Patients usually have a slowly evolving illness with eventual headache, low-grade fever, malaise, myalgias, dry cough, sore throat, and fatigue. Coughing can be severe and with uncontrolled paroxysms. The disease otherwise tends to be mild and is often self-limited. Symptoms typically last 1-2 weeks followed by gradual resolution of the cough and fatigue.
Skin manifestations typically include erythematous maculopapular and vesicular lesions, distributed on the trunk, arms, and legs. Bullous, petechial, and urticarial lesions have also been reported in the literature. Exanthems are often mild and self-limiting. They may or may not be accompanied by pruritus and can persist for 2 weeks.
Rare complications include hepatitis, meningitis, pericarditis, arthritis, and acute hemolytic anemia. In a few patients, pneumonia can lead to adult respiratory distress syndrome.
Related topics: Mycoplasma pneumonia, reactive infectious mucocutaneous eruption (RIME)
Codes
ICD10CM:A49.3 – Mycoplasma infection, unspecified site
SNOMEDCT:
406595002 – Infection due to Mycoplasma pneumoniae
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Diagnostic Pearls
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Differential Diagnosis & Pitfalls
- Mononucleosis
- Viral exanthem
- Reactive infectious mucocutaneous eruption (RIME) – Also caused by M pneumoniae, and by other infectious agents; a prominent mucositis that usually affects 2 or more mucosal sites is accompanied by a sparse acral eruption.
- COVID-19 infection
- Urticaria
- Juvenile idiopathic arthritis
- Exanthematous drug eruption
- Erythema marginatum
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Last Reviewed:07/18/2021
Last Updated:02/27/2022
Last Updated:02/27/2022
Mycoplasma exanthem in Adult