OBJECTIVE To analyze the risk factors for Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection in the children and observe the expressions of interleukin-6 (IL-6)/ signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) pathways.

METHODS A total of 73 children with M. pneumoniae infection who were treated in the Jinan Second Maternal and Child Health Hospital from Apr 2021 to Apr 2023 were assigned as the study group, meanwhile, 73 healthy children who received physical examination were chosen as the control group. The clinical data were compared between the two groups, the risk factors for the M. pneumoniae infection were analyzed, and the values of IL-6, STAT3, WBC, C-reactive protein (CRP) and procalcitonin (PCT) in diagnosis of the M. pneumoniae infection were analyzed by means of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves.

RESULTS The history of recurrent upper respiratory tract infection and living together were the risk factors for the M. pneumoniae infection in the children(OR=1.988, 2.123, P < 0.05). The levels of IL-6, STAT3 mRNA, WBC, CRP and PCT of the study group were higher than those of the control group(P < 0.05). The result of ROC curve analysis showed that the areas under curves (AUCs) of IL-6, STAT3, WBC, CRP, PCT and the joint detection of the indexes were respectively 0.829, 0.813, 0.852, 0.759, 0.849 and 0.953 in diagnosis of M. pneumoniae infection in the children; the sensitivity of the joint detection of the indexes was 86.30%, the specificity 90.40%.

CONCLUSION The IL-6/STAT3 pathways of the children with M. pneumoniae infection are activated, the expression levels of WBC, CRP and PCT are upregulated. The joint detection of IL-6, STAT3, WBC, CRP and PCT may facilitate the diagnosis of M. pneumoniae infection in the children. The history of recurrent upper respiratory tract infection and living together may increase the risk of M. pneumoniae infection in the children.