{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,18]],"date-time":"2026-05-18T14:30:53Z","timestamp":1779114653930,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":29,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,20]],"date-time":"2026-02-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1771545600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Pediatr."],"abstract":"\n Objective<\/jats:title>\n \n To investigate the prevalence, perinatal risk factors, and clinical outcomes associated with\n Ureaplasma<\/jats:italic>\n species (\n Ureaplasma<\/jats:italic>\n spp.) colonization in hospitalized preterm infants.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Methods<\/jats:title>\n \n This retrospective study included preterm infants (&lt;37 weeks\u2019 gestation) admitted to the Neonatology Department of the Children's Hospital of Soochow University, China, between December 2023 and June 2025. Infants transferred within 72\u2005h of birth and tested for\n Ureaplasma<\/jats:italic>\n spp. in nasopharyngeal aspirates within 72\u2005h were eligible. Infants with delayed testing, incomplete clinical data, or early death or discharge were excluded. Nasopharyngeal aspirates samples were analyzed for\n Ureaplasma<\/jats:italic>\n spp. DNA by polymerase chain reaction. Demographic, perinatal, laboratory, and clinical outcome data were collected. Comparisons between\n Ureaplasma<\/jats:italic>\n spp.-positive and\n Ureaplasma<\/jats:italic>\n spp.-negative groups were performed, and multivariate logistic regression was used to evaluate the association between\n Ureaplasma<\/jats:italic>\n spp. colonization and major morbidities.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Results<\/jats:title>\n \n Among 368 eligible preterm infants, 58 (15.8%) were\n Ureaplasma<\/jats:italic>\n spp.-positive. The colonization rate increased progressively with decreasing gestational age (GA), reaching 31.8% among infants &lt;28 weeks, and was highest among those with a birth weight of 1,000\u20131,499\u2005g (20.4%).\n Ureaplasma<\/jats:italic>\n spp.-positive infants had a significantly lower GA (\n P<\/jats:italic>\n \u2009&lt;\u20090.05). Vaginal delivery and prolonged rupture of membranes (PROM) were more common in the\n Ureaplasma<\/jats:italic>\n spp.-positive group (both\n P<\/jats:italic>\n \u2009&lt;\u20090.001), whereas gestational hypertension was more frequent in the negative group (\n P<\/jats:italic>\n \u2009=\u20090.008). The positive group had higher white blood cell counts and a greater frequency of elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) levels (\n P<\/jats:italic>\n \u2009&lt;\u20090.05). Clinically,\n Ureaplasma<\/jats:italic>\n spp. colonization was associated with more frequent and prolonged oxygen supplementation and higher incidences of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), sepsis, and retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) (all\n P<\/jats:italic>\n \u2009&lt;\u20090.05). After adjusting for confounders,\n Ureaplasma<\/jats:italic>\n spp. colonization remained independently associated with BPD, NEC, and ROP (\n P<\/jats:italic>\n \u2009&lt;\u20090.05), but not with sepsis.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n \n Ureaplasma<\/jats:italic>\n spp. colonization is common in hospitalized preterm infants, particularly among those of lower gestational age. Vaginal delivery and PROM are significant perinatal risk factors.\n Ureaplasma<\/jats:italic>\n spp. colonization is associated with heightened inflammatory responses and independently contributes to major morbidities, including BPD, NEC, and ROP, but not with sepsis after adjustment for confounders.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fped.2026.1773281","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,20]],"date-time":"2026-02-20T12:09:29Z","timestamp":1771589369000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Prevalence, perinatal risk factors and clinical outcomes of respiratory Ureaplasma species colonization in hospitalized preterm infants"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Xiaofeng","family":"Yang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neonatology, Children\u2019s Hospital of Soochow University","place":["Suzhou, Jiangsu, 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