What to know
- Presentation Day/Time: Thursday, April 24, 9:00–10:25 am
- Presenter: Stephen Mugel, PhD, MS, EIS officer assigned to the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Division of Bacterial Diseases
What did we do?
- Following a decrease during the COVID-19 pandemic, Mycoplasma pneumoniae (Mp) diagnoses have recently increased among U.S. children. We analyzed data from the New Vaccine Surveillance Network (NVSN) to assess Mp infection demographic and severity changes during the current re-emergence.
What did we find?
- Across all sites, there were 229 Mp cases from prepandemic period, compared with 196 cases during the re-emergence.
- Preliminary analyses indicated no significant age differences between re-emergent patients (mean = 6.5 years) and prepandemic patients (mean = 5.5 years).
- Most common symptoms (cough, fever, fatigue, appetite loss, and dyspnea) were similar across time periods.
- There were no significant differences in odds of hospitalization, intensive care, or supplemental oxygen (all delivery methods).
- No re-emergent patients were intubated, compared with 1% among prepandemic patients, while 12.5% of re-emergent patients received high flow nasal cannulation, compared with none among prepandemic patients.
Why does it matter?
- Despite the rapid increase in Mp cases during 2023–2024, children with Mp-associated hospitalizations and emergency department visits were similar ages and had similar symptoms and clinical outcomes to previous years.
Abstract Category: Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health