{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,22]],"date-time":"2026-05-22T22:05:11Z","timestamp":1779487511338,"version":"3.53.1"},"reference-count":12,"publisher":"Oxford University Press (OUP)","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,11]],"date-time":"2026-04-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1775865600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/pages\/standard-publication-reuse-rights"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,11]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Background: Following the relaxation of COVID\u201119 mitigation strategies, Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MP) infections have resurged worldwide. Although respiratory involvement predominates, extrapulmonary manifestations in children are increasingly recognized. We aim to report a recent rise in pediatric MP infections with notable extrapulmonary features, including rash, mucositis, acute myocarditis, and other parainfectious eruptions. Methods: We describe 6 pediatric cases with extrapulmonary MP manifestations admitted to our center from March 2025 to October 2025. The diagnosis was confirmed through serology or PCR testing. We reviewed the clinical features, laboratory results, and treatment outcomes. Results: Five patients exhibited generalized targetoid rashes, often accompanied by fever, conjunctival hyperemia, or mucosal changes. The median age 14\u2009years (min: 13\u2009months \u2013max: 17.5\u2009years), and 3 patients were female. Several were initially misdiagnosed as meningococcemia, Kawasaki disease, or MIS\u2011C. One adolescent developed MP\u2011associated acute myocarditis, with hypotension, elevated cardiac markers, and mild cardiomegaly. Another patient presented with reactive infectious mucocutaneous eruption (RIME) limited to oral lesions. All patients received macrolide therapy (clarithromycin or azithromycin), with rapid clinical improvement, resolution of lesions, normalization of cardiac markers, and no major adverse effects. Conclusions: MP infection in children may present with dermatologic, mucocutaneous, or cardiac involvement even in the absence of respiratory symptoms. Clinical awareness beyond respiratory findings is crucial to avoid misdiagnosis and inappropriate treatment. Broader diagnostic and surveillance approaches are needed to improve recognition, especially in the context of evolving post\u2011pandemic host and pathogen dynamics.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1093\/tropej\/fmag036","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,7]],"date-time":"2026-05-07T11:45:33Z","timestamp":1778154333000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Beyond the Lungs: Rising Pediatric\n                    <i>Mycoplasma pneumoniae<\/i>\n                    Infections with Extrapulmonary Manifestations in the Post-COVID-19 Pandemic Era"],"prefix":"10.1093","volume":"72","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4478-1833","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Aylin Irmak","family":"Kuruc","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Paediatric Infectious Diseases, Hacettepe University, Faculty of Medicine , 06100 Ankara,","place":["Turkey"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0974-4765","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kubra","family":"Aykac","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Paediatric Infectious Diseases, Hacettepe University, Faculty of Medicine , 06100 Ankara,","place":["Turkey"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ali Bulent","family":"Cengiz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Paediatric Infectious Diseases, Hacettepe University, Faculty of Medicine , 06100 Ankara,","place":["Turkey"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8662-6909","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yasemin","family":"Ozsurekci","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Paediatric Infectious Diseases, Hacettepe University, Faculty of Medicine , 06100 Ankara,","place":["Turkey"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"286","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"2026052217261272200_fmag036-B1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101103","DOI":"10.1016\/j.lanepe.2024.101103","article-title":"Mycoplasma pneumoniae incidence, phenotype, and severity in children and adolescents in Denmark before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic: a nationwide multicentre population-based cohort study","volume":"47","author":"Dungu","year":"2024","journal-title":"Lancet Reg Health Eur"},{"key":"2026052217261272200_fmag036-B2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1481","DOI":"10.3201\/eid3007.240315","article-title":"Large-scale outbreak of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection, Marseille, France, 2023-2024","volume":"30","author":"Edouard","year":"2024","journal-title":"Emerg Infect 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Heal. West. Pacific"},{"key":"2026052217261272200_fmag036-B11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e454","DOI":"10.1097\/INF.0000000000004946","article-title":"Mycoplasma pneumoniae: extrapulmonary manifestations in children with focus on mucocutaneous disease","volume":"44","author":"Meyer Sauteur","year":"2025","journal-title":"Pediatr Infect Dis J"},{"key":"2026052217261272200_fmag036-B12","author":"Web Annex A. & Organization, W. 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