Correlation between serum angiopoietin-2 levels and the severity of community acquired pneumonia in elderly patients / 中华老年医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To investigate the expression of serum angiopoietin-2(Ang-2)in elderly community acquired pneumonia(CAP)patients and to evaluate the correlation between Ang-2 levels and the severity of CAP.Methods:As a case-control study, a total of 118 hospitalized elderly CAP patients were selected.According to the severity of CAP, patients were divided into the general pneumonia group( n=67)and the severe pneumonia group( n=51). At the same time, 40 elderly healthy people without pneumonia were selected as the control group.Serum Ang-2, interleukin-6(IL-6), procalcitonin(PCT)and C-reactive protein(CRP)levels were measured, and CURB-65 scores were obtained for patients with CAP. Results:Serum levels of Ang-2, IL-6, PCT and CRP in elderly CAP patients were significantly higher than those in the control group, and the differences were statistically significant( H=70.698, 25.752, 15.982, 30.588, all P<0.001). Spearman correlation analysis showed that Ang-2 levels were positively correlated with IL-6, PCT, CRP, and CURB-65 scores( r=0.715, 0.531, 0.558, 0.450, all P<0.001). Using Ang-2 as a predictor for severe pneumonia in community-dwelling elderly patients, the area under the ROC curve(AUC)was 0.866(95% CI 0.809-0.924), the optimal cutoff point was 5.24 μg/L, and the corresponding sensitivity and specificity were 72.5% and 84.1%. Conclusions:Serum Ang-2 levels in elderly patients with CAP are significantly higher than those in healthy people, and are correlated with the severity of CAP.The detection of Ang-2 levels is helpful for early intervention management and improved prognosis of elderly CAP patients.