Reactive cold agglutinins suggests which one of the following diseases?
High-Yield Explanation
Mycoplasma pneumoniae causes primary atypical pneumonia. Although physicians rely on the presence of cold agglutinins (CA) for diagnosis, CA may be negative in up to 50% of cases. With symptoms of pneumonia, a positive CA is reliable. A complement-fixation (CF) test for M. pneumoniae is indicated when CA is negative. Isolation of M. pneumoniae is time-consuming (1 to 3 weeks) and not practical in most circumstances.