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Atypical pneumonia is a term used to describe a form of pneumonia not caused by one of the more traditional pathogens.
It can be defined as pneumonia without lobar consolidation.[1][2]
The concept of “atypical pneumonia” was introduced in 1934 by Gallagher in his description of bronchopneumonia, which he considered atypical in comparison to lobar pneumonia.[3][4]
The term “atypical” is used because atypical bacteria commonly affect healthier people,[citation needed] and respond to different antibiotics than other bacteria.
The term “primary atypical pneumonia” used to explicitly exclude bacterial pneumonia.[5] However, in recent years, Mycoplasma, Rickettsia, and Chlamydia are now usually considered bacteria, albeit unusual types (Mycoplasma is the only type of bacteria with no cell wall, and Rickettsia and Chlamydia are intracellular parasites, which used to be confused with viruses.) As the conditions caused by these agents have different courses and respond to different treatments, more specific identification of the pneumonia should be used when possible.
In MeSH, “Primary Atypical Pneumonia” is mapped to Mycoplasma pneumonia.[6]
Compared to typical pneumonias, atypical pneumonia is more likely to have effects outside of the lungs.[7]
It can be caused by one or a combination of the following organisms:
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