A 23-year-old woman comes to the office for routine health check up. She was treated for mycoplasma pneumoniae before 8 weeks. At that time, labroratoy tests showed mild anemia and an elevated serum lactate dehydrogenase level. She is doing well with resolved all symptoms. The patient has no other medical problems and takes no medications. On lung examination shows no abnormalities. Labroratoy tests show resolved her anemia. Which of the following best explains the resolution of this patient's anemia?

Question

A 23-year-old woman comes to the office for routine health check up. She was treated for mycoplasma pneumoniae before 8 weeks. At that time, labroratoy tests showed mild anemia and an elevated serum lactate dehydrogenase level. She is doing well with resolved all symptoms. The patient has no other medical problems and takes no medications. On lung examination shows no abnormalities. Labroratoy tests show resolved her anemia.  Which of the following best explains the resolution of this patient's anemia?

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Eductional Objective: Mycoplasma pneumoniae binds an oligosaccharide on the respiratory epithelium that is also present on erythrocytes, leading to the generation of cross-reacting IgM antibodies (cold agglutinins).  Patients with M pneumoniae infections often develop mild, transient hemolytic anemia that resolves as IgM antibody titers decline (6-8 weeks after infection begins).

A 23-Year-Old Woman Comes to the Office for Routine Health