Pneumonia is a lung infection characterized by difficulties in breathing, and usually spread through coughing and sneezing. Symptoms of pneumonia include headache, fever, chills, coughs, chest pain, nausea and sore throat. There are several types of pneumonia which can be caused by bacteria, virus and even fungi. Pneumonia caused by mycoplasma bacterium is generally a less severe type that can occur in any age group. It is responsible for 20 to 30 percent of all community-acquired pneumonia.

In a study conducted by researchers at UT Southwestern show that mice infected with a severe bacterial pneumonia and subsequently treated with steroids and antibiotics recovered faster and had less inflammation in their lungs than mice treated with antibiotics alone. It has long been believed that giving steroids would counteract the effect of the antibiotic but it turned out antibiotic will kill the bacteria causing the infection while corticosteroid is needed to reduce the inflammation in the lungs.

In the current study, they divided mice infected with mycobacterium pneuomoniae into three groups. One group was treated with placebo, the second group was treated with antibiotic alone and the third group was given a combination of both antibiotic and corticosteroid. The animals were then evaluated at days one, three and six for any effects on mycobacterium pneumoniae-induced airway inflammation. The results turned out in such a way that the group treated with a combination of both drugs got significantly better with faster reduction of inflammation in their lungs.

From Medical News Today:

“Some people might think that if you give steroids, it would counteract the effect of the antibiotic,” said Dr. Robert Hardy, associate professor of internal medicine and pediatrics and the study’s senior author. “But it turns out you need the antibiotic to kill the bug and the steroid to make the inflammation in the lung from the infection get better. The steroids don’t kill the bugs, but they do help restore health.”