Effect of treatment timing of bronchoalveolar lavage on imaging recovery in children with severe Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia and atelectasis

Abstract:

Objective：To investigate the association of treatment timing of bronchoalveolar lavage（BAL） with chest X-ray recovery in children with severe Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia and atelectasis. Methods：A total of 215 children who were diagnosed with severe mycoplasma pneumonia and atelectasis in Children’s Hospital Affiliated to Chongqing Medical University from January 2017 to February 2018 were enrolled as subjects，and according to the course of disease at the time of BAL treatment，they were divided into group A（≤10 days，55 children），group B（10-20 days，94 children），and group C（≥ 21 days，66 children）. Chest X-ray was performed at one week and one month after surgery，and the recovery from atelectasis was compared between groups. Results：There was a significant difference in the recovery of chest radiograph between the three groups at one week after surgery，based on the Kruskal-Wallis H test（χ2=39.542，P=0.000）. Further comparison between two groups showed that group A had a significantly better recovery of chest radiograph than group C（P=0.000），and group B had a significantly better recovery of chest radiograph than group C（P=0.000），while there was no significant difference between group A and group B（P=0.026）. At one month after surgery，there was a significant difference in the recovery of chest radiograph between the three groups，based on the Kruskal-Wallis H test（χ2=58.717，P=0.000）. Further compari－son between two groups showed that group A had a significantly better recovery of chest radiograph than groups B and C（P=0.01 and 0.000），and group B had a significantly better recovery than group C（P=0.000）. Conclusion：In children with severe Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia and atelectasis，early BAL intervention （within 10 days） can help to alleviate their conditions，promote imag－ing recovery，and improve prognosis.