Table 3. Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) Cytokine Concentrations at Baseline and Follow-Up for 195 Patients with Confirmed Bacterial Meningitis.
| Dexamethasone group (n = 88) | Placebo group (n = 107) | P for unadjusted comparison of follow-up values | Adjusted comparison of follow-up values | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CSF parameter | Baseline | Follow-upa | Baseline | Follow-upa | Estimate of dexamethasone effect (95% CI) | P | |
| IL-6 | |||||||
| No. (%) of patients with detectable values | 83 (94) | 83 (94) | 103 (96) | 105 (98) | |||
| Median log10 pg/mL (IQR) for patients with detectable values | 4.97 (4.38–5.37 | 3.23 (2.43–4.19) | 4.89 (4.5–5.5) | 3.65 (2.8–4.33) | .01 | −0.43 (−0.73 to −0.12) | .006 |
| IL-8 | |||||||
| No. (%) of patients with detectable values | 86 (98) | 86 (97) | 106 (99) | 106 (99) | |||
| Median log10 pg/mL (IQR) of patients with detectable values | 4.33 (3.81–4.68) | 3.24 (2.66–3.69) | 4.3 (3.82–4.68) | 3.45 (2.94–3.89) | .03 | −0.21 (−0.41 to −0.008) | .04 |
| IL-10 | |||||||
| No. (%) of patients with detectable values | 83 (94) | 43 (49) | 106 (99) | 74 (69) | |||
| Median log10 pg/mL (IQR) of patients with detectable values | 2.58 (2.06–3.09) | 1.57 (1.19–1.94) | 2.53 (2.04–3.06) | 1.52 (1.25–1.87) | .02 | −0.24 (−0.42 to −0.06) | .01 |
| IL-12 | |||||||
| No. (%) of patients with detectable values | 14 (16) | 5 (6) | 17 (16) | 5 (5) | |||
| Median log10 pg/mL (IQR) of patients with detectable values | 1.33 (1.18–1.64) | 1.27 (1.26–1.46) | 1.3 (1.22–1.69) | 1.20 (1.15–1.22) | .71b | 0.08 (–0.26 to 0.42) | .64 |
| IL-1β | |||||||
| No. (%) of patients with detectable values | 72 (82) | 38 (43) | 90 (84) | 51 (48) | |||
| Median log10 pg/mL (IQR) of patients with detectable values | 2.63 (2.13–3.3) | 1.77 (1.42–1.92) | 2.44 (2.17–3.24) | 1.87 (1.51–2.02) | .27b | −0.17 (−0.45 to 0.10) | .22 |
| TNF-α | |||||||
| No. (%) of patients with detectable values | 64 (72) | 12 (14) | 73 (68) | 11 (10) | |||
| Median log10 pg/mL (IQR) of patients with detectable values | 2.28 (1.49–3.16) | 1.23 (1.16–1.39) | 2.07 (1.57–3.35) | 1.31 (1.17–1.51) | .50b | 0.08 (−0.23 to 0.38) | .62 |
NOTE. IL, interleukin; TNF tumor necrosis factor.
a
Samples were obtained on days 1–4 after randomization. Sampling day was day 1 for 6 (3%) of the patients, day 2 for 144 (74%), day 3 for 44 (23%), and day 4 for 1 (1%).
b
Comparisons of the rates of detectable values by Fisher’s exact test were also nonsignificant. P values were .76 (IL-12), .57 (IL-1β), and .51 (TNF-α).