High prevalence and associated factors of

Objectives: To identify the prevalence of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection and association with age and gender among children aged from 2 to 59 months, hospitalized with atypical pneumonia in Vietnam from June 2023 to May 2024. Methods: A retrospective descriptive study was performed using data collected from the electronic medical records. M. pneumoniae infection was determined by the IgM serology test. Results: 1,296 patients aged from 2 to 59 months hospitalized with atypical pneumonia were included. The majority of patients were aged 12 months or older, with only 3.6% of cases being under 12 months of age. Male patients accounted for 58.7% of the cases. Prevalence of M. pneumoniae infection was 47.3%. Compared to children under 12 months of age, those aged 12 to under 36 months had a 10 times higher risk of M. pneumoniae infection, with OR = 9.44, 95% CI = [2.90-30.77]. Compared to children under 12 months of age, those aged 36 months to under 5 years had a 20 times higher risk of M. pneumoniae infection, with OR = 20.19, 95% CI = [6.20-65.69]. Compared to female children, male children had nearly twice the lower risk of M. pneumoniae infection, with OR = 0.62, 95% CI = [0.50-0.78]. Conclusion: Our study provides additional evidence on the role of M. pneumoniae in atypical pneumonia in children aged from 2 to 59 months, while also highlighting significant risk factors for M. pneumoniae infection.