EVALUATION OF CYFRA 21-1, ANGIOPOETIN-2, PENTRAXIN-3, SRAGE, IL-6, AND IL-10 IN POLYTRAUMATIZED PATIENTS WITH CONCOMITANT THORACIC TRAUMA-HELPFUL MARKERS TO PREDICT PNEUMONIA?

Background: Pneumonia is a frequent complication after polytrauma. This study aims to evaluate the ability of different serum markers to identify patients at risk of developing pneumonia after polytrauma. Methods: A retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data in polytraumatized patients with concomitant thoracic trauma (Injury Severity Score ≥16, Abbreviated Injury Scale Thorax ≥ 3) was performed. The study cohort was divided into patients with and without pneumonia during the clinical course. Serum levels of lung epithelial (CYFRA 21-1), endothelial (Ang-2), and inflammatory (PTX-3, sRAGE, IL-6, IL-10) markers were measured upon arrival in the trauma room and on days 2 and 5. Results: A total of 73 patients and 16 healthy controls were included in this study. Of these, 20 patients (27.4%) developed pneumonia. Polytraumatized patients showed significantly increased CYFRA 21-1 levels with a distinct peak after admission compared with healthy controls. Serum PTX-3 significantly increased on day 2 in polytraumatized patients compared with healthy controls. Injury Severity Score and demographic parameters were comparable between both groups (pneumonia vs. no pneumonia). No statistically significant difference could be observed for serum levels of CYFRA 21-1, Ang-2, PTX-3, sRAGE, IL-6, and IL-10 between the groups (pneumonia vs. no pneumonia) on all days. Logistic regression revealed a combination of IL-6, IL-10, sRAGE, and PTX-3 to be eventually helpful to identify patients at risk of developing pneumonia and our newly developed score was significantly higher on day 0 in patients developing pneumonia ( P < 0.05). Conclusion: The investigated serum markers alone are not helpful to identify polytraumatized patients at risk of developing pneumonia, while a combination of IL-6, IL-10, PTX-3, and sRAGE might be.