Predictive Value of IL-6 and Lymphocyte Subsets for Death in Children With Influenza-Associated Encephalopathy A Retrospective Study.

Objective: This study aims to investigate the predictive value of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and lymphocyte subsets for death in children with influenza-associated encephalopathy (IAE). Patients: This study included 76 children with IAE who were divided into a death group and a survival group. The differences in the levels of IL-6 and lymphocyte subsets between the two groups were analyzed, and the predictive value of these two parameters was compared by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Results: The level of IL-6 and the percentage of natural killer (NK) cells in the death group were higher than those in the survival group (p  < 0.05). The percentage of CD4⁺ T cells and CD4⁺/CD8⁺ levels in the death group were lower than those in the survival group. ROC curves were used for analysis, and the area under the curves (AUCs) of IL-6, the percentage of CD4⁺ T cells, the percentage of CD4⁺/CD8⁺, and the percentage of NK cells were 0.812, 0.810, 0.740, and 0.706, respectively. The AUC of the combination of these four metrics was 0.870. There was a little difference in the efficacy of the four clinical indicators, and the predictive efficacy of the combined test was higher than that of the single test. Conclusion: The IL-6 concentration, percentage of CD4⁺ T cells, percentage of NK cells, and CD4⁺/CD8⁺ have predictive value for death in children with IAE, and the combination of these four metrics has improved the predictive value.