Interleukin-18 binding protein in infants and children hospitalized with pneumonia in low-resource settings
Document Type
Article
Department
Paediatrics and Child Health (East Africa)
Abstract
Pneumonia is the leading infectious cause of death in children, with especially high mortality in low- and middle-income countries. Interleukin-18 binding protein (IL-18BP) is a natural antagonist of the pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-18 and is elevated in numerous autoimmune conditions and infectious diseases. We conducted a prospective cohort study to determine the association between admission IL-18BP levels and clinical severity among children admitted to two hospitals in Uganda for hypoxemic pneumonia. A total of 42 children (median age of 1.2 years) were included. IL-18BP levels were higher in patients with respiratory distress, including chest indrawing (median 15 ng/mL (IQR 9.8–18) versus 4.5 ng/mL (IQR 3.8–11) without chest indrawing, P = 0.0064) and nasal flaring (median 15 ng/mL (IQR 9.7–19) versus 11 ng/mL (IQR 5.4–14) without nasal flaring, P = 0.034). IL-18BP levels were positively correlated with the composite clinical severity score, Pediatric Early Death Index for Africa (PEDIA-e, ρ = 0.46, P = 0.0020). Patients with IL-18BP > 14 ng/mL also had slower recovery times, including time to sit (median 0.69 days (IQR 0.25–1) versus 0.15 days (IQR 0.076–0.36) with IL-18BP < 14 ng/mL, P = 0.036) and time to fever resolution (median 0.63 days (IQR 0.16–2) versus 0.13 days (IQR 0–0.42), P = 0.016). In summary, higher IL-18BP levels were associated with increased disease severity and prolonged recovery times in Ugandan children with pneumonia.
Recommended Citation
Konrad, E.,
Soo, J.,
Conroy, A.,
Namasopo, S.,
Opoka, R.,
Hawkes, M.
(2022). Interleukin-18 binding protein in infants and children hospitalized with pneumonia in low-resource settings.
Available at:
https://ecommons.aku.edu/eastafrica_fhs_mc_paediatr_child_health/287
Comments
This work was published before the author joined Aga Khan University.