Pathogenic changes of community-acquired pneumonia in a children’s hospital in Beijing, China before and after COVID-19 onset: a retrospective study

Abstract

Background This study aimed to analyze the pathogenic characteristics of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in a children’s hospital before and after the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and to provide testimony for preventing CAP in the future. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed. The information was collected from the electronic medical record system of the hospital. A total of 2739 children were included from February 1, 2019, to January 31, 2021. Results Among these 2739 patients were 1507 (55.02%) males and 1232 (44.98%) females; the median age was 3.84 years. There were 2364 cases during the pre-COVID-19 period and 375 cases during the post-COVID-19 period. The number of hospitalized children after the pandemic was 84.14% lower. The median age after the onset was 1.5 years younger than that before the onset (4.08 years old) (Z = − 7.885, P < 0.001). After the pandemic, the proportion of CAP in school-age children and Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (MPP) and influenza virus pneumonia (IVP) decreased significantly. During the pre-COVID-19 period, the proportions of detected pathogens were as follows: MP (59.56%) > bacteria (50.42%) > viruses (29.57%) > fungi (3.43%). During the post-COVID-19 period, the pathogen proportions were bacteria (56.53%) > viruses (53.60%) > MP (23.47%) > fungi (3.73%). Conclusions There was a significant decrease in the number of children with CAP hospitalized after the pandemic, especially among school-age children, and the pathogen proportions of CAP with MP and IV were significantly decreased. We inferred that CAP was effectively prevented in school-age children because of the strong mitigation measures.

Incidence of community-acquired pneumonia among children under 5 years in Suzhou, China: a hospital-based cohort study

“…And the peak timing lasted longer in children aged 7–12 months. As the pathogenic heterogeneity in seasonal peaking timing had been reported previously, for example, Influenza A often precedes Influenza B, the seasonality variation may associate with the different susceptibility to pathogens among different age groups 29 30…”

Analysis of Childhood Pneumonia: A Comparison Between the Pre- and During the COVID-19 Pandemic in a Reference Hospital in Brazil

“…[14][15][16] The epidemiological profile (ie, age, sex, and nutritional status) of the children were similar between the studied periods; however, complications were not related to these variables. A Chinese study 17 compared hospitalized patients with CAP before and during the COVID-19 pandemic and found similar results.…”

“…Previous studies highlighted changes in the CAP epidemiology during the COVID-19 pandemic. 17 , 18 However, studies did not address the difference in the severity of CAP during this period.…”

Cocirculation and coinfection of multiple respiratory viruses during autumn and winter seasons of 2023 in Beijing, China: A retrospective study

“…Influenza A typically had a winter epidemic peaking in January or February. From the beginning of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) pandemic, China maintained a strict “Zero‐COVID” set of policies that implemented strong nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) which interrupted the spread and seasonality of influenza virus, 1–6 as well as other respiratory pathogens including respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), 2 adenovirus (ADV), 2 human rhinovirus (HRV), 2 and Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MP) 7 . This outcome was positive in the short term.…”