Clinical characteristics of hospitalized children with mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia in Chinese tertiary…

Cohort studyFrontiers in cellular and infection microbiology· 2026

Clinical characteristics of hospitalized children with mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia in Chinese tertiary hospitals during the 2023-2024 post-pandemic period.

Xiancheng Wang, Xiaoshun Zheng, Longfei Wang … Jie He

Pediatric RespiratoryCohort studyQ1IF 5.1

Macrolide resistance genes were detected in 86% of children with M. pneumoniae pneumonia

Clinical characteristics of hospitalized children with mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia in Chinese tertiary hospitals during the 2023-2024 post-pandemic period.

Xiancheng Wang … Jie He

Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2026 · Q1 in General Medicine

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent non-pharmaceutical interventions (non-pharmaceutical interventions) altered the epidemiological patterns of Mycoplasma pneumoniae (M. pneumoniae) infections.

Purpose

This study aimed to analyze the long-term trends of M. pneumoniae pneumonia (MUMPP) in children after non-pharmaceutical interventions discontinuation, focusing on epidemiological, clinical and macrolide-resistant characteristics.

Methods

A retrospective analysis was conducted on 1342 hospitalized children with MUMPP from January 2023 to December 2024 in Shenzhen Hospital of Southern Medical University, China.

n = 1342 hospitalized children

Results

most of these children carried resistance genes, though fewer had macrolide treatment failure

Macrolide resistance g

86.43%

Clinically unresponsiv

64.29%

More results

MUMPP exhibits a bimodal temporal distribution in 2023-2024, with the first peak occurring in November 2023, and the second smaller peak in August 2024.

Risk factors for macrolide-unresponsive MPP included older age, longer hospital stay, and severe cough.

More results

Approximately 25% of MUMPP cases progressed to severe MPP, with younger age, prolonged cough, and higher inflammatory markers being associated with severity.

Co-pathogen infections were common, and patients with mixed infections had distinct clinical and laboratory profiles compared to those with pure MUMPP.

“

Conclusion · 1 of 3

This study highlights the complex epidemiological and clinical landscape of MUMPP in the post-pandemic era.

Conclusion · 2 of 3

The discordance between macrolide resistance genes and clinical treatment suggests that macrolides may still be effective in some cases.

Conclusion · 3 of 3

The identified risk factors and clinical features provide valuable insights for optimizing treatment strategies and managing pediatric MUMPP in the post-pandemic context.

Clinical characteristics of hospitalized children with mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia in Chinese tertiary hospitals during the 2023-2024 post-pandemic period.

Clinical characteristics of hospitalized children with mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia in Chinese tertiary hospitals during the 2023-2024 post-pandemic period.

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