The prognostic value of Th1/Th2 cytokines on septic children with or without neutropenia

Abstract

Objective To explore the characteristics and value for predicting prognosis of cytokines in septic children with or without neutropenia. Methods Totally 138 septic children were divided into the neutropenia and non-neutropenia groups according to absolute neutropenic count. Septic children were divided into the shock and non-shock groups according to circulation function and organ perfusion. The levels of C-reactive protein, procalcitonin, cytokines, PRISM-Ⅲ and clinical outcomes were analyzed between the relative groups. Results (1) Totally 138 septic children were recruited, 64 with neutropenia and 74 without neutropenia. The level of PRISM-Ⅲ of the neutropenia group was significantly higher than that of the non-neutropenia group (P=0.048).Mortality showed no significant difference between the two groups, but hospital stay in the neutropenia group was longer than that in the non-neutropenia group. The levels of C-reactive protein, IL-6, and IL-10 ihe neutropenia group were significantly higher than those of the non-neutropenia group (P=0.001; P=0.001; P=0.032). The level of TNF-α in the neutropenia group was significantly lower than that of the non-neutropenia group (P=0.032). (2)Among the 64 septic children with neutropenia, 23 were combined with shock. The PRISM-Ⅲ level of the shock group was significantly higher than that of the non-shock group (P=0.001). The mortality of the shock group (43.5%, 10/23) was significantly higher than the non-shock group (2.4%, 1/41) (P=0.001). C-reactive protein, procalcitonin, IL-6, IL-10 and TNF-α in the shock group elevated obviously than those in the non-shock group (P=0.001; P=0.001; P=0.001; P=0.005; P=0.019). The area under receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.8 for IL-6 (cut-off value 315.38 pg/mL), 0.8 for IL-10 (cut-off value 45.18 pg/mL), and 0.85 for TNF-α (cut-off value 1.95 pg/mL). (3) Among the 74 septic children without neutropenia, 19 were combined with shock. The PRISM-Ⅲ level of the shock group was significantly higher than that of the non-shock group (P=0.022).There was no significant difference of mortality between the two groups (P=0.3). IL-10 level in the shock group elevated obviously than that in the non-shock group (P=0.015).(4) Among the 42 children with sepsis shock, 23 were combined with neutropenia. The PRISM-Ⅲ level of the neutropenia group was significantly higher than that of the non-neutropenia group (P=0.005). There was no significant difference of mortality between the two groups (P=0.29). The levels of C-reactive protein, procalcitonin, IL-6 and IL-10 in the neutropenia group were significantly higher than those in the non-neutropenia group (P=0.001; P=0.001; P=0.001; P=0.035). There was no difference of TNF-α level between the two groups.(5) Among the 96 children without sepsis shock, 41 were combined with neutropenia. No difference of PRISM-Ⅲ level was observed between the neutropenia and non-neutropenia groups. The mortality of the neutropenia group was significantly lower than that in the non-neutropenia group (2.4% vs 20%, P=0.02). The levels of C-reactive protein and IL-6 in the neutropenia group were significantly higher than those in the non-neutropenia group (P=0.005; P=0.033). The TNF-α level was significantly lower than that in the non-neutropenia group (P=0.007). Conclusions Compared to children without neutropenia, septic children combined with neutropenia have longer hospital stay, and septic shock children combined with neutropenia have higher mortality, and levels of IL-6, IL-10 and TNF-α were also significantly increased. The levels of IL-6, IL-10 and TNF-α can help to predict prognosis of children with sepsis. Key words: Sepsis; Shock; Septic shock; Neutropenia; Non- neutropenia; Cytokine; Children; Prognosis