Detection of in Mexican children with community-acquired pneumonia: experience in a tertiary care hospital.

is an important cause of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). Information on the prevalence of in pediatric patients with CAP in Mexico is limited. The aim of this study was to detect in hospitalized pediatric patients with CAP. We performed a descriptive study in a tertiary-level pediatric reference center, obtaining 154 respiratory samples from patients under 18 years of age and diagnosed with CAP. was detected by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting the and genes. Complete blood cell count, measurement of C-reactive protein and detection of IgM and IgG anti-P1 were performed. Clinical, epidemiological and radiological data of the patients were analyzed. was detected by real-time PCR in 26.6% of the samples. 39% of the cases occurred during the spring season. A total of 83% of the patients with had some underlying disease; renal disease, autoimmune disease and primary immunodeficiencies had a significant association with CAP. Children under 6 years of age represented 53.7% of the cases. Fever and cough were the most frequent symptoms. IgM and IgG were positive in 1.9% and 14% of the patients, respectively. In the chest X-ray, 17.1% of the patients showed multifocal alveolar infiltrates pattern. The complications in this series were 26.8%. The mortality in this study was 4.9%. This is the first report in Mexico about as a causal agent of CAP in a tertiary care pediatric hospital using real-time PCR and serology. was responsible for 26.6% of the cases and was frequent in children under 6 years of age. In addition, we described the clinical presentation in patients with underlying diseases.