Levels of citron, ApoAⅠ and CysLTs in children with Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia and their relationships with disease severity

OBJECTIVE To investigate the expression of serum citron, apolipoprotein AⅠ (ApoAⅠ) and cysteine leukotriene (CysLTs) in children infected with Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (MPP) and their relationship with the disease severity.

METHODS One hundred and twelve children with MPP infection admitted to Suzhou High tech Zone People′s Hospital from Oct. 2020 to Oct. 2023 were selected as the case group, and 118 healthy children who underwent physical examination in the hospital during the same period were selected as the control group, and the case group were divided into mild (69 cases) and severe subgroups (43 cases) according to their disease conditions. The levels of serum citron, ApoAⅠ and CysLTs were compared between the two groups and further subgroups, and the correlation between the levels of citron, ApoAⅠ and CysLTs and the severity of MPP infection in children was analyzed by Spearman. The diagnostic value of citron, ApoAⅠ and CysLTs for children with MPP infections was analyzed by receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC).

RESULTS Citron and CysLTs in case group were (4.32±1.42) ng/ml and (839.36±212.79) pg/ml, respectively, which were higher than those in the control group, and ApoAⅠ in the case group was (0.85±0.27) g/L, which was lower than that in the control group (P < 0.05). Citron and CysLTs in the severe group were higher than those in the mild group, and ApoAⅠ in the severe group were lower than that in the mild group (P < 0.05). The levels of citron and CysLTs were positively correlated with the severity of illness in children with MPP infection (r=0.718, 0.671, P < 0.05), while ApoAⅠ was negatively correlated (r=-0.749, P=0.009). The area under the curve (AUC) of citron, ApoAⅠ and CysLTs combined for the diagnosis of MPP infections was higher than that of single detection (P < 0.05), and the sensitivity and specificity of combined detection were 89.29% and 86.44%.

CONCLUSIONS Citron, ApoAⅠ and CysLTs are abnormally expressed in children with MPP infection and correlat with the severity of disease in children with MPP infection, and the combined detection of the three inddexes can improve the diagnostic value of MPP infections in children.