ASSESSMENT OF IL-6 AND IL-8 LEVELS IN COMMUNITY-ACQUIRED PNEUMONIA IN CHILDREN

Abstract

The search for biomarkers of severe community-acquired pneumonia in children is an urgent clinical task. Cytokines, in particular IL-6 and IL-8, being regulators of the immune response, can be considered as indicators of lung tissue inflammation. The aim of the study was to evaluate the serum levels of IL-6 and IL-8 in children with pneumonia, taking into account the severity of the disease, and to analyze the relationship of these parameters with the nature of the pathology and biomarkers of systemic inflammation. The enzyme immunoassay method was used to determine the concentrations of IL-6, IL-8, and procalcitonin in the blood serum of 37 children with community-acquired pneumonia of varying severity upon their admission to the hospital. The examined children were divided into 2 groups: 1 – patients with severe pneumonia (n=13) and 2 – patients with mild pneumonia (n=24). It was found that the serum levels of both interleukins were higher in children with severe community-acquired pneumonia. Thus, in children with severe disease, the level of IL-6 is 2.2 times, and the level of IL-8 is 3.6 times higher than in patients with mild pneumonia. The presence of direct correlations of moderate strength between the severity of the disease and serum levels of IL-6 (r=068, p<0.0001) and IL-8 (r=0.57, p<0.0001) was revealed. The presence of correlations of the studied interleukins was determined both among themselves (r=0.49, p=0.002) and with other indicators of systemic inflammation. Thus, IL-6 levels correlated with leukocytosis (r=0.42, p=0.009), absolute neutrophil count (r=49, p=0.002) and serum PCT concentration (r=0.53, p<0.001), and IL-8 levels correlated with PCT concentrations (r=0.49, p=0.002) and CRP (r=0.35, p<0.05). Conclusions. The results obtained indicate that the development of severe community-acquired pneumonia in children is associated with increased serum levels of IL-6 and IL-8, as well as laboratory parameters of systemic inflammatory response such as leukocytosis, concentrations of PCT and CRP. The revealed correlations indicate the involvement of IL-6 and IL-8 in the development of a systemic inflammatory response caused by the pathology under study. The data obtained indicate the possibility of using serum levels of IL-6 and IL-8 in children with community-acquired pneumonia as promising biomarkers for assessing the severity of the disease.