Severe Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection requiring extracorporeal membrane oxygenation with concomitant ischemic stroke in a child

Mycoplasma pneumoniae is one of the most common agents causing respiratory disease in children. The most common extra-pulmonary manifestations of M. pneumoniae include central nervous system involvement, with stroke being an uncommon but devastating consequence. We present a 13-year-old girl with severe respiratory disease requiring extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, who developed ischemic stroke associated with clinical and serologic evidence of M. pneumoniae. A case of M. pneumoniae causing this degree of respiratory failure associated with stroke has not been previously reported. Prompt recognition of severe mycoplasmal infection may allow for earlier treatment and concomitant evaluation of neurologic injury.