title: Efficiency of interleukin 6 and interferon gamma in the differentiation of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis and pneumocystis pneumonia in pediatric oncology patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) and Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) are two types of pulmonary fungal infection that are not easy to differentiate. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of inflammatory cytokines in the differential diagnosis of IPA and PCP.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 227 pediatric oncology patients diagnosed with acute pneumonia were enrolled. They were divided into three groups: IPA, PCP, and 'others'. The cytokine levels in these groups were compared, including interferon (IFN)-γ, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-10, IL-6, IL-4, and IL-2.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the six cytokines, only IL-6 and IFN-γ levels were elevated in patients with acute pneumonia. IL-6 was comparable between patients with IPA and PCP (52.0 pg/ml vs. 25.8 pg/ml, p=0.092), while IFN-γ was much higher in patients with PCP (19.9 pg/ml vs. 8.9 pg/ml, p=0.001). The accuracy of IL-6 and the ratio of IL-6/IFN-γ in predicting IPA were 69.0% and 72.0%, respectively, while the accuracy of IFN-γ to predict PCP was 67.2%. IL-6 >140 pg/ml and IL-6/IFN-γ >9.0 presented specificities of 90% in predicting IPA, while IFN-γ >40 pg/ml presented specificity of 90% in predicting PCP.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  IL-6 is predominantly elevated in IPA, while IFN-γ is significantly increased in PCP. These are helpful tools for the differential diagnosis of IPA and PCP.
authors.affiliation: Division of Hematology-Oncology, Children's Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310003, PR China.
authors.forename: He-Ping
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Division of Hematology-Oncology, Children's Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310003, PR China. Electronic address: y_m_tang@zju.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Yong-Min
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Division of Hematology-Oncology, Children's Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310003, PR China.
authors.forename: Hua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Division of Hematology-Oncology, Children's Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310003, PR China.
authors.forename: Wei-Qun
authors.initials: WQ
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Division of Hematology-Oncology, Children's Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310003, PR China.
authors.forename: Shi-Long
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Division of Hematology-Oncology, Children's Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310003, PR China. Electronic address: medico-xxj@163.com.
authors.forename: Xiao-Jun
authors.initials: XJ
authors.lastname: Xu
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000097:blood*; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood*; D055744:Invasive Pulmonary Aspergillosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D011020:Pneumonia, Pneumocystis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; C508600:IL6 protein, human; D015850:Interleukin-6; D007371:Interferon-gamma
keywords: Cytokine; Interferon gamma; Interleukin 6; Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis; Oncology; Pneumocystis pneumonia