title: IL-1beta and IL-6 in community-acquired pneumonia: bacteremic pneumococcal pneumonia versus Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia.
abstract: Interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels in 20 patients with bacteremic Streptococcus pneumoniae community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) were compared with these cytokine levels in 20 patients with Mycoplasma pneumoniae CAP. All 40 patients survived hospitalization and underwent a follow-up examination one month later. Serum IL-1beta and IL-6 levels were determined by the enzyme immunoassay (EIA) method using commercial kits. In the acute phase of CAP, IL-6 levels were significantly higher in the S. pneumoniae group (p = 0.014), while IL-1beta levels were higher in the M. pneumoniae group (p = 0.046). In the convalescence phase, the two cytokines were detected in a considerable number of patients in both groups. In this phase, only the level of IL-1beta was significantly higher in the M. pneumoniae group than in the S. pneumoniae group (p = 0.03). We conclude that the levels of IL-1beta and IL-6 are different between patients with S. pneumoniae-CAP and M. pneumoniae-CAP during the acute phase. In the convalescence phase, cytokine levels remain high in some of the CAP patients, but a significant difference between the groups exists only for IL-1beta. Further studies are required.
authors.affiliation: Div. of Internal Medicine, Soroka Medical Center of Kupat Holim Klalit and the Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lieberman
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Livnat
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Schlaeffer
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Porath
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Horowitz
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Levy
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017714:Community-Acquired Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D007375:Interleukin-1 / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood; D008875:Middle Aged; D011019:Pneumonia, Mycoplasma / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D011018:Pneumonia, Pneumococcal / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D007375:Interleukin-1; D015850:Interleukin-6