Young children are at high risk of severe outcomes due to pneumonia. The World Health Organization has established criteria to help guide their referral to hospital, but improved clinical decision tools are needed to ensure that children at risk are not missed. In this issue, Patrick Staunton and colleagues, using data from Malawi, report the development of a machine learning model that predicts hospitalization of young children within seven days of initial presentation with pneumonia in a primary care setting. The model outperformed existing risk prediction tools, suggesting that its clinical implementation may benefit early identification of children with severe respiratory disease.
Image Credit: cottonbro studio; pexels
Editorial
Improving suicide prevention in men
PLOS Medicine: published June 30, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1005169
Perspectives
The NIH 2025 Public Access Policy: Immediate access, unequal costs
PLOS Medicine: published June 1, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1005124
Beyond associations: Navigating the safety of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in early pregnancy
PLOS Medicine: published June 4, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1005129
Related Articles
Placenta accreta spectrum in the 21st century: Challenging dogma and redefining disorder
PLOS Medicine: published June 12, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1005142
The well-worn path from armed conflict to measles resurgence
PLOS Medicine: published June 26, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1005156
Related Articles
Precision oncology’s translation gap—Can molecular tumor boards bridge it?
PLOS Medicine: published June 30, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1005165
Related Articles
Policy Forum
The data transparency crisis in research: Lessons from systematic reviews and meta-analyses
PLOS Medicine: published June 16, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1005145
Research Articles
Prenatal exposure to asthma medications and risk of neurodevelopmental disorders and educational difficulties: A systematic review and meta-analysis
PLOS Medicine: published June 1, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1005100
Plasma proteomic signatures of early retinal neurodegeneration in diabetes: a multi-cohort study
PLOS Medicine: published June 2, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1004868
Related Articles
Prognostic value of cervical length for spontaneous preterm birth in asymptomatic women with singleton pregnancy: An individual participant data meta-analysis
PLOS Medicine: published June 2, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1004653
Comparative impacts and cost-effectiveness of tuberculosis systematic screening strategies in prisons in Brazil, Colombia, and Peru: A mathematical modeling study
PLOS Medicine: published June 4, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1004739
Molecular Tumor Boards clinical impact on patient care and structural features: A systematic review and meta-analysis
PLOS Medicine: published June 9, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1005125
Related Articles
Prediction of hospitalisation in young children with pneumonia in Malawi: A machine learning-based approach
PLOS Medicine: published June 9, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1005122
Comparison of count-based and clustering definitions of multimorbidity and their association with prevalence of multimorbidity, health profiles, and mortality: A cohort study of UK Biobank participants
PLOS Medicine: published June 12, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1004914
Association between initial benzodiazepine prescribing patterns and time to benzodiazepine discontinuation: A population-based retrospective cohort study
PLOS Medicine: published June 18, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1005126
Multi-omics biomarkers of endothelial dysregulation preceding chronic lung allograft dysfunction: A prospective cohort study
PLOS Medicine: published June 23, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1004725
Prevalence and epidemiological patterns of Neisseria gonorrhoeae infection in sub-Saharan Africa, 1964–2025: Systematic review, meta-analyses, and meta-regressions
PLOS Medicine: published June 23, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1004936
Parental body mass index and offspring childhood body size and eating behaviour: A structural equation modelling analysis in the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study
PLOS Medicine: published June 23, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1005094
Comparisons of core component delivery in cardiac rehabilitation programs by country income classification and decade based on the 2025 Global Audit Update: A survey study
PLOS Medicine: published June 23, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1005151
Cardiovascular outcomes and safety associated with statin therapy for primary prevention in older adults with type 2 diabetes: A target trial emulation study
PLOS Medicine: published June 24, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1005136
Association of armed conflict and global measles cases: A structural equation modeling analysis of 193 countries from 2000 to 2023
PLOS Medicine: published June 25, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1004819