IL-1β and IL-6 in community-acquired pneumonia: Bacteremic pneumococcal pneumonia versusMycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia

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Abstract
Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels in 20 patients with bacteremicStreptococcus pneumoniae community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) were compared with these cytokine levels in 20 patients withMycoplasma pneumoniae CAP. All 40 patients survived hospitalization and underwent a follow-up examination one month later. Serum IL-1β 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 theS. pneumoniae group (p=0.014), while IL-1β levels were higher in theM. 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-1β was significantly higher in theM. pneumoniae group than in theS. pneumoniae group (p=0.03). We conclude that the levels of IL-1β and IL-6 are different between patients withS. pneumoniae-CAP andM. 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-1β. Further studies are required.