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Apr 10, 2023Article Details
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Main Article Content
Cytokine profile and clinical correlates in HIV-exposed infants with severe (hypoxic) pneumonia
Abstract
Background. Severe pneumonia in infants who are HIV-infected is a common problem in many parts of the developing world, especially sub-Saharan Africa. What has been missing from previous studies of severe pneumonia in HIV-infected infants, however, is a description of the host inflammatory response and cytokine/chemokine profile that accompanies this disease.
Objective. To describe the cytokine profiles associated with severe hypoxic pneumonia in HIV-infected and -exposed infants.
Methods. In a cohort of HIV-exposed children diagnosed clinically with severe hypoxic pneumonia, paired serum and sputum cytokines were tested. A control group of HIV-infected children with bronchiectasis contributed matching controls.
Results. A total of 100 infants (mean age 2.8 months) with a clinical diagnosis of severe hypoxic pneumonia were included in this study. IP-10 was markedly elevated in both sputum (mean 560.77 pg/mL) and serum (mean 9 091.14 pg/mL), while IL-10 was elevated in serum (mean 39.55 pg/mL), with both these cytokines being significantly higher than in stable children with HIV-associated bronchiectasis.
Conclusion. This study of HIV-exposed infants with severe hypoxic pneumonia suggests that IP-10 and IL-10 are associated with hypoxic lung disease in infants. However, further investigation of this association is required.
