Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41754613›Full record

ArticleViruses2026

Changes in the Epidemiology of Pneumonia in Children Younger than 14 Years Old During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic in Mexico, a National Multicenter Study.

Rosa María Wong-Chew, Patricia Bautista Carbajal, Verónica Tabla-Orozco, María Del Carmen Espinosa-Sotero, Pedro Antonio Martínez-Arce, Daniel E Noyola, María Susana Juárez-Tobías, Gerardo Martínez-Aguilar, Fabian Rojas-Larios, Izveydi Zuyino Mondragón-Salinas and 1 more

Abstract readMulticenter Study
In one paragraph

Article in Viruses, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Observational
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Rosa María Wong-ChewInfectious Diseases Research Laboratory, Research Division, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Mexico City 04510, Mexico.ORCID 0000-0002-3582-5120
Patricia Bautista CarbajalInfectious Diseases Research Laboratory, Research Division, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Mexico City 04510, Mexico.ORCID 0000-0003-1641-127X
Verónica Tabla-OrozcoEmergency Department, Hospital Pediátrico de Coyoacán, Mexico City 04000, Mexico.
María Del Carmen Espinosa-SoteroDepartment of Pediatrics, Hospital General de México Dr. Eduardo Liceaga, Mexico City 06760, Mexico.ORCID 0009-0003-1315-1246
Pedro Antonio Martínez-ArceDepartment of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Antiguo Hospital Civil de Guadalajara Fray Antonio Alcalde, Guadalajara 44200, Mexico.
Daniel E NoyolaCenter for Health Sciences and Biomedicine Research, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí 78210, Mexico.ORCID 0000-0002-4840-6742
María Susana Juárez-TobíasDepartment of Pediatrics, Hospital Regional de Alta Especialidad Dr. Ignacio Morones Prieto, San Luis Potosí 78290, Mexico.
Gerardo Martínez-AguilarHospital Municipal del Niño de Durango, Durango 34000, Mexico.ORCID 0000-0002-7878-2503
Fabian Rojas-LariosHospital Regional Universitario IMSS Bienestar de Colima, Colima 28000, Mexico.ORCID 0000-0003-1744-9173
Izveydi Zuyino Mondragón-SalinasHospital de las Culturas, San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas 29264, Mexico.
Miguel Leonardo García-LeónInfectious Diseases Research Laboratory, Research Division, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Mexico City 04510, Mexico.

Funding

Dirección General de Asuntos del Personal Académico, UNAM IN230423Secretaría de Ciencia Tecnología e Innovación 303081
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIn 2019, pneumonia caused 740,180 deaths in children under five years of age, representing 22% of global mortality in this age group. During the COVID-19 pandemic, public health interventions markedly reduced the circulation of most respiratory viruses other than SARS-CoV-2, leading to significant post-pandemic shifts in respiratory pathogen epidemiology. This study aimed to characterize the epidemiology, clinical features, and risk factors associated with respiratory viruses and bacteria causing pneumonia in Mexican children during the late pandemic and post pandemic periods.

methodsChildren younger than 14 years with pneumonia were recruited from seven hospitals in Mexico. Demographic and clinical data were collected, and nasopharyngeal swabs were analyzed using a multiplex PCR panel detecting 19 viruses and 7 bacteria. Univariate, bivariate, and logistic regression analyses were performed (SPSS v25).

resultsA total of 1715 children were included: 704 during the pandemic (2021-2023) and 1011 post-pandemic (2023-2025). Co-infections (72% vs. 65%,

conclusionsPediatric pneumonia epidemiology shifted from a predominantly viral profile during the pandemic to increased bacterial detections and virus-bacteria co-infections post-pandemic, alongside re-emergence of typical RSV and influenza seasonality. Higher mean age and rhinovirus as the most frequent pathogen persist after the pandemic. Sustained molecular surveillance and reinforced vaccination programs remain essential in the post-pandemic era.

Indexed as

COVID-19PneumoniaAdolescentChildChild, PreschoolCoinfectionFemaleHaemophilus influenzaeHumansInfantMaleMexicoNasopharynxPandemicsPneumonia, ViralRisk FactorsbacteriachildrenCOVID 19 pandemicpneumoniarespiratory viruses

Identifiers

PMID41754613
PMCPMC12945217

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.