Prevalence of Atypical Pathogens in Patients With Cough and Community-Acquired Pneumonia: A Meta-Analysis
Abstract
PURPOSE Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), acute cough, bronchitis, and lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) are often caused by infections with viruses or Streptococcus pneumoniae. The prevalence of atypical pathogens Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Chlamydophila pneumoniae, Legionella pneumophila, and Bordetella pertussis among patients with these illnesses in the ambulatory setting has not been previously summarized. We set out to derive prevalence information from the existing literature. METHODS We performed a systematic review of MEDLINE for prospective, consecutive-series studies reporting the prevalence of M pneumoniae, C pneumoniae, L pneumophila and/or B pertussis in outpatients with cough, acute bronchitis, LRTI, or CAP. Articles were independently reviewed by 2 authors for inclusion and abstraction of data; discrepancies were resolved by consensus discussion. A meta-analysis was performed on each pathogen to calculate the pooled prevalence estimates using a random effects model of raw proportions. RESULTS Fifty studies met our inclusion criteria. While calculated heterogeneity was high, most studies reported prevalence for each pathogen within a fairly narrow range. In patients with CAP, the overall prevalences of M pneumoniae and C pneumoniae were 10.1% (95% CI, 7.1%–13.1%) and 3.5% (95% CI, 2.2%–4.9%), respectively. Consistent with previous reports, M pneumoniae prevalence peaked in roughly 6-year intervals. Overall prevalence of L pneumophila was 2.7% (95% CI,…
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