Department of Respiratory Medicine, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, National Clinical Research Center for Child Health and Disorders, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Child Development and Disorders, Chongqing Key Laboratory of Child Rare Diseases in Infection and Immunity, Chongqing, China.
Big Data Engineering Center, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2024 Aug 16;14:1424554. doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2024.1424554. eCollection 2024.
Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MP) is a significant cause of community-acquired pneumonia with high macrolide resistance rates. Various COVID-19 pandemic restrictions have impacted the prevalence of MP.
To assess the changes in the pattern of MP infections among children before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
A total of 36685 enrolled patients, aged 0-18 years, diagnosed with pneumonia and admitted to Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University from January 2019 to December 2023, were retrospectively reviewed in this study. The epidemiological characteristics of pediatric MP infection were analyzed.
Among 36685 patients, 7610 (20.74%) tested positive for MP. The highest positive rate was observed among children aged over 6 years (55.06%). There was no gender disparity in MP infection across the three phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hospital stays were longest for children during the COVID-19 pandemic ( <0.001). MP infection was most prevalent in the summer (29.64%). The lowest positive rate was observed during the pandemic, with the highest rate found after easing the measures across all age groups ( <0.001). There was a surge in the positive rate of MP in the third year after the COVID-19 pandemic. Regression analyses demonstrated a shift in the age range susceptible to MP infection, with children aged 3.8 to 13.5 years post-pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic range of 5.3 to 15.5 years old. Additionally, the average macrolide resistance rate was 79.84%. We observed a higher resistance rate during the pandemic than in the pre- and post-pandemic phases ( <0.001).
The restrictive measures implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic have influenced the spread of MP to some extent and altered demographic and clinical characteristics, such as age, age group, season, length of stay, and macrolide resistance. We recommend continuous surveillance of the evolving epidemiological characteristics of MP infection in the post-pandemic period when restrictions are no longer necessary.
肺炎支原体（MP）是社区获得性肺炎的重要病因，其大环内酯类药物耐药率较高。各种新冠疫情防控措施对 MP 的流行情况产生了影响。
评估新冠疫情前后儿童肺炎支原体感染模式的变化。
本研究回顾性分析了 2019 年 1 月至 2023 年 12 月期间在重庆医科大学附属儿童医院因肺炎住院的 36685 名 0-18 岁儿童的临床资料，分析儿科肺炎支原体感染的流行病学特征。
36685 例患者中，7610 例（20.74%）MP 检测阳性。6 岁以上儿童阳性率最高（55.06%）。新冠疫情期间，各年龄段男女性别间 MP 感染无差异。疫情期间住院时间最长（<0.001）。夏季 MP 感染最常见（29.64%）。疫情期间阳性率最低，所有年龄段在防控措施放宽后阳性率最高（<0.001）。新冠疫情后第 3 年 MP 阳性率出现高峰。回归分析显示，MP 易感年龄范围发生变化，与疫情前相比，疫情后易感年龄为 3.8-13.5 岁，而疫情前为 5.3-15.5 岁。此外，大环内酯类药物的耐药率平均为 79.84%。与疫情前和疫情后阶段相比，疫情期间的耐药率更高（<0.001）。
新冠疫情防控措施在一定程度上影响了 MP 的传播，并改变了人口统计学和临床特征，如年龄、年龄组、季节、住院时间和大环内酯类药物耐药率。当不再需要限制措施时，我们建议对疫情后时期肺炎支原体感染的不断演变的流行病学特征进行持续监测。
