Clinical characteristics and cytokine changes in children with pneumonia requiring mechanical ventilation

Abstract

Objective To assess clinical characteristics and cytokine levels in children with severe pneumonia who required ventilatory support. Methods In this prospective, descriptive, cross-sectional study, blood and endotracheal fluid samples were obtained from patients with severe pneumonia, aged Results Forty-five patients with severe pneumonia requiring mechanical ventilation (aged 10 ± 5 months) and 35 healthy age-matched controls were included. Patients with severe pneumonia had significantly increased serum interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, and granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factor concentrations compared with controls (80.84 pg/ml versus 2.06 pg/ml, 90.03 pg/ml versus 6.62 pg/ml, and 115.58 pg/ml versus 11.47 pg/ml, respectively). In the severe pneumonia group, serum IL-10 levels were significantly higher in patients aged Conclusion High IL-6 concentrations were associated with mortality in patients