Table 2 Demographic and clinical characteristics of study subjects and the relative expressions of IL-2, IL-4, IL-10, and IL-13 mRNAs among Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) cases compared to healthy controls
From: Increased mRNA expression of key cytokines among suspected cases of Pneumocystis jirovecii infection
Variables | No. of PCP cases | No. of healthy controls | IL-2 mRNA expression (Mean + SD) | p-value | IL-4 mRNA expression (Mean +SD) | p-value | IL-10 mRNA expression (Mean +SD) | p-value | IL-13 mRNA expression (Mean +SD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Overall | 100 | 100 | 5.72+ 3.16 | – | 4.35+ 4.20 | – | 3.77+ 2.99 | – | 7.59+ 4.82 |
Gender | |||||||||
 Males | 59 | 55 | 5.70+ 3.27 | 0.57 | 3.91+ 3.62 | 0.39 | 3.37+ 2.68 | 0.20 | 8.0+ 4.80 |
 Females | 41 | 45 | 5.74+ 3.03 |  | 4.99+ 4.89 |  | 4.35+ 3.64 |  | 7.0+ 4.85 |
Age (in years) | |||||||||
 < 50 years | 45 | 48 | 5.43+ 3.34 | 0.16 | 3.97+ 4.51 | 0.10 | 3.48+ 2.60 | 0.56 | 7.65+ 4.79 |
 > 50 years | 55 | 52 | 5.95+ 3.01 |  | 4.66+ 3.94 |  | 4.01+ 3.28 |  | 7.55+ 4.89 |
Cough | |||||||||
 Yes | 100 | NAa | 5.72+ 3.16 | – | 4.35+ 4.20 | – | 3.77+ 2.99 |  | 7.59+ 4.82 |
 No | 0 | NA | – |  | – |  | – |  | – |
Fever | |||||||||
 Yes | 92 | NA | 5.80+ 3.16 | 0.23 | 4.40+ 4.27 | 0.65 | 3.81+ 3.01 | 0.71 | 7.88+ 4.79 |
 No | 8 | NA | 4.71+ 3.17 |  | 3.79+ 3.47 |  | 3.36+ 1.60 |  | 4.34+ 4.10 |
Weight loss | |||||||||
 Yes | 80 | NA | 5.82+ 3.16 | 0.38 | 4.77+ 4.12 | 0.002 | 3.99+ 2.96 | 0.02 | 7.74+ 4.93 |
 No | 20 | NA | 5.29+ 3.20 |  | 2.66+ 4.17 |  | 2.89+ 3.03 |  | 7.56+ 4.82 |
Dyspnea | |||||||||
 Yes | 76 | NA | 5.77+ 3.25 | 0.92 | 4.94+ 4.47 | 0.003 | 4.15+ 3.21 | 0.01 | 7.57+ 4.82 |
 No | 24 | NA | 5.54+ 2.89 | 2.49+ 2.47 |  | 2.56+ 1.70 |  | 7.68+ 4.92 | |
Night sweats | |||||||||
 Yes | 54 | NA | 6.37+ 3.68 | 0.06 | 4.56+ 4.16 | 0.39 | 4.62+ 3.60 | 0.006 | 7.88+ 4.58 |
 No | 46 | NA | 4.95+ 2.20 |  | 4.10+ 4.27 |  | 2.77+ 1.58 |  | 7.26+ 5.11 |
Crept | |||||||||
 Yes | 62 | NA | 6.35+ 3.32 | 0.007 | 5.0+ 4.86 | 0.01 | 4.16+ 3.29 | 0.09 | 8.01+ 5.08 |
 No | 38 | NA | 4.68+ 2.60 |  | 3.28+ 3.49 |  | 3.13+ 2.23 |  | 6.91+ 4.33 |
Wheezing | |||||||||
 Yes | 75 | NA | 6.30+ 3.32 | 0.001 | 4.87+ 5.11 | 0.98 | 4.06+ 3.06 | 0.007 | 7.98+ 5.01 |
 No | 25 | NA | 3.96+ 1.70 |  | 4.17+ 3.87 |  | 2.92+ 2.63 |  | 6.45+ 4.08 |
Chest X-ray | |||||||||
 Central perihilar infiltrates | 19 | NA | 7.59+ 2.83 | < 0.0001 | 7.55+ 4.67 | < 0.0001 | 6.11+ 4.05 | < 0.0001 | 9.05+ 5.03 |
 Patchy infiltrates | 8 | NA | 9.88+ 5.12 |  | 3.46+ 1.98 |  | 5.40+ 3.63 |  | 7.30+ 4.30 |
 Consolidation | 3 | NA | 5.73+ 1.0 |  | 2.94+ 0.80 |  | 5.50+ 4.83 |  | 13.40+ 7.45 |
 Hilar lymphadenopathy | 3 | NA | 6.62+ 2.05 |  | 5.87+ 0.63 |  | 5.02+ 2.47 |  | 5.69+ 4.13 |
 Pneumothorax | 1 | NA | 5.38 |  | 1.08 |  | 1.67 |  | 5.09 |
 Pleural effusion | 1 | NA | 6.54 |  | 14.22 |  | 0.30 |  | 14.62 |
 No | 65 | NA | 4.61+ 2.37 |  | 3.41+ 3.84 |  | 2.83+ 1.88 |  | 6.95+ 4.57 |