ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Pediatr.
Sec. Pediatric Infectious Diseases
This article is part of the Research TopicNew Discoveries and Challenges in Pediatric Infectious Diseases: Epidemiological, Clinical, and Pathogenic AdvancesView all 13 articles
Analysis of clinical characteristics and risk factors of infectious mononucleosis in children with splenomegaly
Provisionally accepted
- Anqing Municipal Hospital, Anqing, Anhui, China, Anhui province, China
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The initial Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) infection in children often presents as infectious mononucleosis (IM). However, the risk factors for splenomegaly in IM remain unclear. This study investigated the clinical features and risk factors for splenomegaly in children with IM. Methods: This retrospective study enrolled children diagnosed with IM between 2019 and 2024. They were divided into splenomegaly and non-splenomegaly groups. The relevant clinical data and laboratory examination results of the two groups were compared.Furthermore, multivariate logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were performed on the relevant variables. Results: Splenomegaly, a common clinical manifestation, was observed in 43.6% of the 179 children with IM.The splenomegaly group exhibited higher serum levels of alanine aminotransferase(ALT),r-glutamyl transpeptidase(γ-GT), and lactate dehydrogenase(LDH) , along with higher rates of hepatomegaly and eyelid edema (P < 0.05). Multivariate analysis identified older age (odds ratio [OR]= 1.333), eyelid edema (OR= 3.242), and hepatomegaly (OR= 22.072) as independent risk factors (P < 0.05). Receiver operating characteristic(ROC) curve analysis determined that 3.5 years was the optimal age cut-off for predicting splenomegaly. Conclusions: In conclusion, older age, hepatomegaly, and eyelid edema are risk factors for splenomegaly in children with IM,with the risk being higher when the cutoff age is 3.5 years. These findings provide clinicians with a practical tool to identify children at higher risk and to offer advice on limiting activities to avoid potential complications, especially in settings where advanced imaging is not readily available
Keywords: Infectious Mononucleosis, Hepatomegaly, Splenomegaly, Risk factors, Clinical Characteristics, Children
Received: 18 Jun 2025; Accepted: 25 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Gao and Hu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Yasong Gao
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