Diagnostic efficacy of serum IL-17 and NF-κB expression levels in early detection of lung consolidation in children with Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia

Objective To investigate the expression levels and significance of serum interleukin-17 （IL-17） and nuclear factor-κB （NF-κB） in Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia （MPP） children in acute stage with lung consolidation. Methods Sixty-four children diagnosed with MPP in acute stage were selected. According to the imaging features of chest CT scan or chest X-ray upon admission， all patients were divided into the lung consolidation group （n = 32） and non-lung consolidation group （n = 32）. The serum levels of IL-17 and NF-κB in MPP children were detected and compared between two groups. The relationship between IL-17 and NF-κB was analyzed. The receiver operating characteristic （ROC） curve was drawn. The diagnostic efficacy of serum IL-17 and NF-κB levels for lung consolidation was assessed in MPP children in acute stage. Results The serum levels of IL-17 and NF-κB in the lung consolidation group were higher than those in the non-lung consolidation group （both P < 0.05）. Spearman correlation analysis showed that IL-17 level was positively correlated with NF-κB level in MPP children （rs = 0.818， P < 0.05）. When the serum level of IL-17 was 10.45 pg/mL， the area under the ROC curve （AUC） was 0.806， and the sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of lung consolidation in MPP children were 75.0% and 78.1%. When the serum level of NF-κB was 534.13 pg/mL， the AUC was 0.951， and the sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of lung consolidation in children with MPP were 90.6% and 84.4%. Conclusions The expression levels of IL-17 and NF-κB are up-regulated in MPP children with lung consolidation in acute stage. Early detection of serum levels of IL-17 and NF-κB has certain diagnostic efficacy for lung consolidation in MPP.