Epidemiological characterization of respiratory tract infections caused by Mycoplasma pneumoniae during epidemic and post-epidemic periods in North China, from 2011 to 2016

BACKGROUND: Mycoplasma pneumoniae (M. pneumoniae) is a commonly causative pathogen for respiratory tract infections (RTIs) in humans. The epidemiological features of M. pneumoniae infections during post-epidemic, including age distribution and the seasonality of the patients, are not well investigated. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 7835 consecutive RTIs patients (3852 adults and 3983 children) who visited a teaching hospital, and defined an epidemic (2011–2013) and a post-epidemic period (2014–2016). M. pneumoniae was detected by fluorescence-quantatitive PCR in respiratory samples. Informed consent was obtained by all adults and the legal representatives of patients aged < 18 years, and the study was approved by Institutional Review Board of Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital (project approval number 10-KE-49). RESULTS: The median (IQR) age was 16 (53) years (range < 0–105 years). The M. pneumoniae positive rate was 14.4% (21.2%, epidemic; 6.7%, post-epidemic), with seasonal peaks from late summer to autumn during epidemic, and from fall to winter during post-epidemic period, which was highest in children aged 7–17 years. In epidemic, no statistical difference was found in the positive rates between children and adults among most months (except February, July and August), neither for the positive rates among age groups (P = 0.801). However, in post-epidemic period, significant differences were observed in the positive rates between children and adults in nearly every month (P< 0.05 or P< 0.001, except May), as well as in the positive rates among age groups (P< 0.001). Most of the older patient admissions and all of ICU admissions occurred during the epidemic. CONCLUSIONS: Different patterns of age distribution and seasonality of M. pneumoniae RTIs between epidemic and post-epidemic periods were reported. Our results suggest that M. pneumoniae should be considered as a possible pathogen in pneumonia patients admitted to the ICU in the setting of an epidemic. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12879-018-3250-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.