{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,22]],"date-time":"2026-10-22T19:55:15Z","timestamp":1792698915348,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":33,"publisher":"Springer Science and Business Media LLC","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,6]],"date-time":"2026-02-06T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1770336000000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,24]],"date-time":"2026-02-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1771891200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":18,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["link.springer.com"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Sci Rep"],"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MP) is a leading cause of community-acquired pneumonia in children. The COVID-19 pandemic and associated public health interventions have significantly influenced the epidemiology of respiratory infections. This single-center retrospective cohort study aimed to evaluate changes in MP infection patterns among children before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>We analyzed data from 15,718 pediatric patients (aged 1\u201318 years) with CAP admitted to Shaanxi Provincial People\u2019s Hospital between January 2017 and December 2023. The study periods were defined as pre-pandemic (January 1, 2017, to January 22, 2020), pandemic (January 23, 2020, to December 11, 2022), and post-pandemic (December 12, 2022, to December 31, 2023). Epidemiological characteristics of MP infections were assessed using descriptive statistics and regression analysis.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Among the 15,718 patients, 5,454 (34.7%) tested positive for MP. The highest positivity rate was observed in children aged\u2009&gt;\u20096 years (52.4%), with a male predominance across all age groups. Most infections occurred in autumn (41.5%). The MP positivity rate was lowest during the pandemic period and highest in the post-pandemic period (\n                      <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009&lt;\u20090.001). Regression analysis indicated a broadening of the susceptible age range following the pandemic onset.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>COVID-19 containment measures altered the transmission dynamics of MP, affecting demographic characteristics such as age distribution and seasonal trends. Continuous surveillance of MP epidemiology in the post-pandemic era is recommended to inform clinical management and public health strategies.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-026-38940-7","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,6]],"date-time":"2026-02-06T14:51:58Z","timestamp":1770389518000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":6,"title":["Epidemiological characteristics of Mycoplasma pneumoniae in hospitalized children before during and after the COVID-19 pandemic in xi\u2019an China"],"prefix":"10.1038","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Na","family":"Liu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yang","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tao-Min","family":"Bai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Fang-Fang","family":"Ma","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tian-Tian","family":"Han","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Huo-Lan","family":"Zhu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xiao-Yan","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,6]]},"reference":[{"key":"38940_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"835","DOI":"10.1056\/NEJMoa1405870","volume":"372","author":"S Jain","year":"2015","unstructured":"Jain, S. et al. 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