Serum IL-27 Predicts the Severity and Prognosis in Patients With Community-acquired Pneumonia: A Prospective Cohort Study

Background: The previous studies have revealed that IL-27 was involved in the pathophysiology of pulmonary inflammatory diseases. However, the role of IL-27 in the community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) was unclear. The goal of this research was to explore the associations of serum IL-27 with the severity and prognosis among CAP patients through a prospective cohort study.Methods: The whole of 239 healthy population and 239 CAP patients were enrolled. Fasting blood samples were collected. Inflammatory cytokines were detected using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Demographic characteristics and clinical information were analyzed. Results: Serum IL-27 was significantly risen in CAP patients compared with control subjects on admission. Besides, serum IL-27 was gradually increased in line with CAP severity scores among CAP patients. Analysis on relevance suggested that serum IL-27 was associated with blood routine indices, renal function, liver function, myocardial function and inflammatory cytokines. Linear regression and logistic regression revealed that serum IL-27 was positively correlated with CAP severity scores. Logistic regression demonstrated that serum IL-27 on admission was positively correlated with vasoactive agent usage and longer hospital stay during hospitalization among CAPO patients. Conclusions: Serum IL-27 is markedly and positively associated with the severity and poor prognosis among CAP patients, indicating that IL-27 may involve in the pathophysiological process of CAP. Serum IL-27 may be used as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for CAP patients.