Effect of thymosin alpha 1 in adjuvant therapy for elderly patients with a pulmonary infection caused by multi-drug resistant bacteria

Objectives To investigate the effect and possible mechanism of thymosin alpha 1 on the TNF level in sputum and CD4+ and CD8+ cell counts and the CD4+ / CD8+ ratio in the peripheral blood of elderly patients with a pulmonary infection caused by multi-drug resistant bacteria.To explore the mechanism of action of thymosin in the treatment of elderly patients with a pulmonary infection caused by multi-drug resistant bacteria.Methods Fifty elderly patients with a pulmonary infection caused by multi-drug resistant bacteria were randomly divided into two groups according to the diagnostic criteria established by the Chinese Medical Association.The treatment group(30 patients) received a subcutaneous injection of thymosin alpha 1(1.6 mg per day,for 7 days) in addition to regular treatment and the control group(20 patients) received regular treatment.T-lymphocyte subgroups including CD4+ and CD8+ were measured before and after treatment using flow cytometry.The levels of TNF in sputum were determined using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) before and after treatment.Therapeutic efficacy was evaluated in the two groups.Results In the control group,one patient was cured and seven patients improved,indicating a response rate of 40.00%;in the treatment group,five patients were cured and seventeen patients improved,indicating a response rate of 73.33%.The difference was statistically significant(P0.05).The mean level of TNF in sputum was 74.84 ng/L±32.91 ng/L for the treatment group and 96.87 ng/L±22.27 ng/L for the control group;the difference was statistically significant(P0.05).The percentage of CD4+ and CD8+ cells and CD4+ /CD8+ ratio were(44.21±4.54)%,(26.25±5.27)%,and 1.69±0.52 for the treatment group and(41.03± 3.97)%,(30.98±4.24)%,and 1.33±0.34 for the control group.The differences in cell counts and the cell ratio were statistically significant(all P0.05).Conclusion Thymosin alpha 1 adjuvant therapy had a marked effect in elderly patients with multi-drug resistant bacteria infection.Its role is to decrease the levels of TNF in sputum and the percentage of CD8+ T-lymphocytes in blood and increase the percentage of CD4+ T-lymphocytes in peripheral blood,thus improving the patient's immune function.