ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Pediatr.
Sec. Pediatric Pulmonology
Etiology, Radiographic Outcomes, and Risk Factors for Adverse Outcomes in Infection-Associated Plastic Bronchitis in Children: a retrospective studyInitial Presentation, Etiology and Risk Factors for Adverse Outcomes in Infection-Associated Plastic Bronchitis in Children: A Retrospective Study
Huan Cao
Dongge Liang
Han Huang
Qianqian He
Linlin Wu
Children’s Hospital Affiliated of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
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Abstract
Abstract Objective: To summarize the pathogen distribution, imaging features, radiologic outcomes, and risk factors for poor prognosis in children with infection-associated plastic bronchitis (PB). Methods: This retrospective study included 86 hospitalized children diagnosed with infection-associated PB at Henan Children's Hospital from January 2021 to December 2023. Patients were grouped based on radiologic findings and outcomes into favorable prognosis, poor prognosis, and indeterminate outcome groups. Clinical data and laboratory results were compared between the favorable and poor prognosis groups to identify potential risk factors for adverse outcomes. Results: Among 86 children with infection-associated PB, 81 (94.2%) were caused by Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MP), including 29 (35.8%) co-infections. Of the MP-associated cases, 65 (80.2%) showed a good outcome, and 10 (12.3%) had unclear outcomes, while 6 (7.4%) developed adverse outcomes. These included 1 case requiring
Summary
Keywords
etiology, Imaging features, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, outcomes, Plastic bronchitis
Received
06 November 2025
Accepted
18 February 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Cao, Liang, Huang, He and Wu. 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: Huan Cao
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