Clinical significance of determination of serum levels of SOD and several relevant cytokines in pediatric patients with acute bronchoalveolitis

Objective: To study the clinical significance of determination of serum levels of SOD and several related cytokines in pediatric patients with acute bronchoalveolitis. Methods: Serum levels of SOD, IGF-β, TNF-α, IL-6, IL-8 and IL-10 were determined with RIA in 35 pediatric patients both before and after treatment as well as in 35 controls. Results: Before treatment the serum levels of SOD and IL-10 in the patients were significantly lower than those in controls (P<0.01), while the serum levels of IGF-β, TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-8 were significantly higher (P<0.01). After one month of treatment, the levels of SOD and IL-10 increased markedly, the levels of SOD being not significantly different from those in controls but the levels of IL-10 were still significantly lower (P<0.05). The serum levels of TNF-β, IGF-β, IL-6 and IL-8 all decreased very much after treatment, however, only TNF-α levels became not significantly different from those in controls while the IGF-β, IL-6 and IL-8 levels remained significantly higher than those in controls (P<0.05). Conclusion: The changes of serum levels of SOD, IGF-β, TNF-α, IL-6, IL-8 and IL-10 after treatment were consistent well with the resolution of inflammatory conditions in pediatric patients with acute bronchoalveolitis. (authors)