Objective The balance between oxidant and antioxidant defense mechanisms is crucial. We aimed to evaluate the role of this balance in community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in children.

Methods We analyzed serum oxidant and antioxidant stress parameters according to the clinical and demographic data of children with CAP and compared them with healthy controls. Serum total antioxidant status (TAS) and total oxidant status (TOS) were evaluated and compared between the groups, along with levels of ischemia-modified albumin (IMA), antioxidant enzymes, nonenzymatic antioxidant factors, and plasma thiol.

Results Of 160 children evaluated, 106 had CAP (54 outpatients and 52 inpatients), and the other 54 were healthy (control group). Total thiol and native thiol levels were significantly lower in the inpatient group compared with the outpatient group (p = 0.004 and p = 0.005, respectively). Serum IMA differed significantly among the groups (p = 0.001), with inpatients showing the highest level. A positive correlation was found between serum IMA and C-reactive protein levels in patients with pneumonia (r = 0.351; p = 0.001).

Conclusion Parameters that provide information about antioxidant capacity may be useful in the diagnosis and prognosis of pneumonia. Our results suggest that plasma thiol levels and IMA may be good candidate biomarkers to predict hospitalization for CAP in children.

目的 氧化和抗氧化防御机制之间的平衡至关重要。我们旨在评估这种平衡在儿童社区获得性肺炎 (CAP) 中的作用。

方法 我们根据 CAP 儿童的临床和人口统计学数据分析血清氧化和抗氧化应激参数，并将其与健康对照进行比较。评估和比较两组之间的血清总抗氧化状态 (TAS) 和总氧化状态 (TOS)，以及缺血修饰白蛋白 (IMA)、抗氧化酶、非酶抗氧化因子和血浆硫醇的水平。

结果 评估的160名儿童中，106名CAP（门诊54例，住院52例），其余54例健康（对照组）。与门诊组相比，住院组的总硫醇和天然硫醇水平显着降低（分别为p  = 0.004 和p  = 0.005）。各组之间的血清 IMA 差异显着（p  = 0.001），住院患者的水平最高。肺炎患者血清 IMA 与 C 反应蛋白水平呈正相关（r  = 0.351；p  = 0.001）。

结论 提供抗氧化能力信息的参数可能有助于肺炎的诊断和预后。我们的结果表明，血浆硫醇水平和 IMA 可能是预测儿童 CAP 住院治疗的良好候选生物标志物。