The significance of changes of serum TNF-α and sICAM-1level in children with severe pneumonia

Objective To explore the changes and clinical significance of inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor alpha(TNF-α)and soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1(sICAM-1)in children with severe pneumonia.Methods By using enzyme-linked immunosorhent assay,serum TNF-α and sICAM-1 concentrations were measured in 88 pneumonia children treated between 2007 to 2009 in pediatrics.According to the severity of pneumonia,patients were divided into severe pneumonia group(48 cases),non-severe pneumonia group(40 cases).Results Serum TNF-α,sICAM-1 in children with pneumonia were 58.7± 10.8 ng/L and 22.5±6.4 ng/L respectively,significantly higher than that in healthy control group,where the values were 11.5±5.1 ng/L and 4.2±1.8 ng/L(P0.01).TNF-α(82.6±21.3 ng/L)and sICAM-1(31.6±9.2 ng/L)of patients with severe pneumonia were significantly higher than the mild pneumonia group 30.5±14.1 ng/L,17.5±4.4 ng/L(P all 0.01).After treatment,both groups's serum TNFαand sICAM-1 levels decreased significantly compared with their statistics before treatment(P0.01).Conclusions In the pathogenesis of pneumonia in children,there is an excess release of inflammatory cytokine TNF-α and sICAM-1,they can be used to reflect the severity of pneumonia and as monitoring indicators.