Heightened Local T_h17 Cell Inflammation Is Associated with Severe Community-Acquired Pneumonia in Children under the Age of 1 Year

Figure 6

T_h17 cell–associated cytokines were elevated in mixed bacterial-viral infections and were good predictors for sCAP. (a) Comparisons of BAL IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-17 levels of children with CAP in whom neither viruses nor bacteria were detected (), in whom only viruses were detected (), in whom only bacteria were detected (), and in whom mixed bacterial-viral infections were detected (). Cytokine levels are presented as box plots outlined with kernel probability density. Medians and quartiles are indicated with whiskers reaching up to 1.5× IQR. The width of the colored area represents the proportion of data (grey, no viruses or bacteria detected; red, viruses only; green, bacteria only; purple, mixed bacterial-viral infections). values were calculated using the Kruskal–Wallis test with correction for multiple comparisons using statistical hypothesis testing (Dunn’s test). (b) ROC curves for BAL IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-17 for discriminating sCAP from nsCAP.

(a)

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