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. 2012 Jun 1;185(11):1225–1234. doi: 10.1164/rccm.201201-0003OC

Figure 2.

Figure 2.

Plasma IL-18 levels are elevated in critical illness. (A) IL-18 plasma levels were measured in the Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) Registry of Critical Illness (BWH RoCI). Samples were drawn after admission (Day 1) and at Day 3 and Day 7. Patients with sepsis/acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) have higher levels of IL-18 in their plasma than intensive care unit (ICU) control subjects, patients with systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), or patients with sepsis only. (B) Patients with severe sepsis-induced ARDS (Vanderbilt cohort) display higher levels of IL-18 than SIRS (control). IL-18 levels in severe sepsis: 603.68 pg/ml ± 71.7, n = 30, coefficient of variance (CV) = 0.65; ARDS with severe sepsis: 509.48 pg/ml ± 72.82, n = 31, CV = 0.8; and SIRS: 266.59 pg/ml ± 46.49, n = 28, CV = 0.92. (C) Levels of IL-18 in patients with sepsis-induced ARDS are also elevated in the Massachusetts General Hospital and Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital (MGH/BIDMC) cohort when compared with patients without ARDS (control). IL18 level in sepsis/ARDS: 1,184.8 pg/ml ± 178.29, n = 23, CV = 0.72 and in control patients without ARDS who had either SIRS or sepsis: 386.1 pg/ml ± 43.36, n = 29, CV = 0.6. (D) Patients with sepsis/ARDS (ARDS) displayed higher levels of IL-18 when compared with patients with SIRS only (control) in the BWH cohort at Day 1. IL-18 level in sepsis/ARDS: 1,043.06 pg/ml ± 108.09, n = 21, CV = 0.47 and in SIRS: 571.73 pg/ml ± 83.38, n = 57, CV = 1.1. (E) IL-18 levels are increased in nonsepsis/ARDS BWH patients (ARDS), when compared with ICU control subjects (control). IL-18 levels in ARDS: 696.68 pg/ml ± 81.0, n = 7, CV = 0.32 and in ICU control subjects: 311.46 pg/ml ± 28.47, n = 35, CV = 0.7. By comparison, IL-18 levels of patients with trauma-induced ARDS (trauma ARDS, University of Pennsylvania cohort [U Penn]) are similar to patients with ARDS in BWH, and elevated relative to their ICU control subjects (control). IL-18 levels in trauma ARDS: 636.05 pg/ml ± 104.89, n = 20, CV = 0.74 and in their control subjects: 134.75 pg/ml ± 37.51, n = 18, CV = 1.18. *Significant differences any condition vs. control. #Significant difference sepsis vs. sepsis/ARDS. Student t test was performed on log10 transformed data, P < 0.05. Sample numbers/condition are listed in the extended Methods section in the online supplement.