Diagnostic values of soluble triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells (sTREM-1) and interferon-inducible protein-10 (IP-10) for severe mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia in children

Objective: Early diagnosis of Severity Mycoplasma Pneumoniae Pneumonia (SMPP) has been a worldwide concern in clinical practice. Two cytokines, soluble Triggering Receptor Expressed on Myeloid cells (sTREM-1) and Interferon-Inducible Protein-10 (IP-10), were proved to be implicated in bacterial infection diseases. However, the diagnostic value of sTREM-1 and IP-10 in MPP was poorly known. This study aimed to investigate the diagnostic value of sTREM-1 and IP-10 for SMPP. Methods: In this prospective study, the authors enrolled 44 children with MPP, along with their clinical information. Blood samples were collected, and cytokine levels of sTREM-1 and IP-10 were detected with ELISA assay. Results: Serum levels of sTREM-1 and IP-10 were positively correlated with the severity of MPP. In addition, sTREM-1 and IP-10 have significant potential in the diagnosis of SMPP with an Area Under Curve (AUC) of 0.8564 (p-value = 0.0001, 95% CI 0.7461 to 0.9668) and 0.8086 (p-value = 0.0002, 95% CI 0.6918 to 0.9254) respectively. Notably, the combined diagnostic value of sTREM-1 and IP-10 is up to 0.911 in children with SMPP (p-value < 0.001, 95% CI 0.830 to 0.993). Conclusions: Serum cytokine levels of sTREM-1 and IP-10 have a great potential diagnostic value in children with SMPP.