What is the clinical evidence from this study?

Study design: Observational. Population: Enterovirus infection (n=8426). Intervention: Enterovirus infection. Primary outcome: Enterovirus detection rate.

What question did this study set out to answer?

This study aims to describe the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of enterovirus infections in hospitalized children in Beijing over a ten-year period.

March 9, 2026BMC Infectious Diseases0 citationsOpen Access

Clinical and epidemiological characteristics of hospitalized children with enterovirus infection: a retrospective study from 2016 to 2025 at Beijing children’s hospital

FLFei Li YSYong Sun LHLuci Huang

Key Result

Among hospitalized children tested for enterovirus, the overall detection rate was 2.80%, with viral encephalitis identified as the most predominant disease manifestation (55.12%).

Key Points

This study aims to describe the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of enterovirus infections in hospitalized children in Beijing over a ten-year period.
Retrospective analysis of hospitalized children from July 2016 to July 2025.
Patients underwent EV RNA detection using fluorescence-based real-time PCR.
Demographic, clinical, and laboratory data were collected from electronic medical records.
A total of 8,426 patients were included, with 236 positive for enteroviruses (2.80%).
Males showed a higher infection rate (3.14%) compared to females (2.18%).
Infants aged 3 to < 6 months had the highest detection rate at 5.26%.
Viral encephalitis was the most common diagnosis (55.12%).
98.05% of the patients had a favorable prognosis, while the mortality rate was 1.95%.

Study Design

Type

Observational (n=8,426)

Multicenter

Structured PICO

Population

8,426 hospitalized children aged under 18 years who underwent enterovirus RNA testing over a 10-year period in Beijing, China.

Outcome

Clinical and epidemiological characteristics of children with EV infection

Enterovirus infection is an important cause of hospitalization in children, frequently presenting as viral encephalitis, myocardial injury, and pneumonia, particularly in infants and young children during summer and autumn.

Limitations

Single-center study conducted in Beijing, which may restrict the generalizability of the findings.
The analysis focused exclusively on hospitalized children, whereas the majority of EV infections are managed in outpatient settings.
The study did not conduct further laboratory typing of the EVs, as different EV types may present distinct clinical pathogenesis profiles.

Abstract

Enteroviruses (EVs) are important pathogens that cause neurological and systemic infections in children. Currently, only hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) is monitored in China, indicating a lack of systematic surveillance for other EV-related diseases. Additionally, long-term epidemiological data on pediatric EV infections in Beijing are scarce. The aim of this study was to describe the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of children with EV infection in Beijing over a ten-year period. In this retrospective study, all hospitalized patients who underwent EV RNA detection using a fluorescence‑based real‑time PCR assay between July 2016 and July 2025 were included. Demographic, clinical, and laboratory information was retrieved from the hospital’s electronic medical record system. A total of 8,426 patients was included in this study, and 236 cases (2.80%) tested positive for EVs. Notably, males exhibited a higher detection rate (3.14%, 160/4,940) than females (2.18%, 76/3,486). Moreover, children aged 3 to < 6 months (5.26%, 13/247) and those aged 3 to < 7 years (4.51%, 56/1243) had higher detection rates than other age groups. In terms of seasonal patterns, EV infections demonstrated distinct peak in summer and autumn. Among the 205 patients whose clinical information was complete, viral encephalitis (VE) was identified as the most predominant disease (55.12%, 113/205), particularly among children aged 3 to < 6 years (39.82%, 45/113) and those aged 28 days to < 3 months (10.62%, 12/113). This was followed by myocardial injury/myocarditis (23.41%, 48/205), pneumonia (22.93%, 47/205), hepatic dysfunction (14.63%, 30/205), multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) (8.78%, 18/205), HFMD (7.80%, 16/205), herpangina (3.90%, 8/205), and arrhythmia (3.41%, 7/205). In this study, 98.05% of the patients had a favorable prognosis, with a mortality rate of 1.95% (4/204). Diseases related to EV infection are among the important reasons for hospitalization in children, among which the top three diseases are encephalitis/meningitis, myocarditis/myocardial damage, and pneumonia. EV infection mainly affects infants and young children under 7 years of age, with the peak incidence in summer and autumn seasons. Not applicable.

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