Abstract: Objective: To analyze the epidemiological characteristics, clinical manifestations, and laboratory tests of hospitalized monkeypox infected patients, and provide reference for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of monkeypox. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of 12 monkeypox patients admitted to the Qingdao Public Health Clinical Center from June 2023 to December 2024. The differences in laboratory test results between patients with HIV infection and those without HIV infection were compared, the Mann-Whitney U test was used for statistical analysis. Results: Twelve hospitalized monkeypox patients had a median age of 34.50 years, all of whom were male and had a history of men who have sex with men (MSM). Among them, 8 cases were unmarried, 7 cases were infected with Treponema pallidum, and 6 cases were infected with HIV, all of whom received antiretroviral therapy (ART). The median time from onset to hospitalization was 5.50 days, and the median length of hospital stay was 8.50 days. The patients' skin rashes were mainly distributed in the perianal area, limbs, genitals, and trunk. The average level of C-reactive protein in monkeypox patients with concurrent HIV infection was higher than that in monkeypox patients without HIV infection, but the difference was not statistically significant. Eleven patients had a good prognosis, and one patient had sequelae of disfiguring scars on the face. Conclusion: In Qingdao, the spread and prevalence of hospitalized monkeypox patients are confined to the population of men who have sex with men. Skin rashes are the main symptom, and most patients have mild conditions with a good prognosis.

Key words: monkeypox, epidemiology, clinical characteristics