ABSTRACT
Previous studies have demonstrated that 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) exerted key roles in various pulmonary diseases, but the evidence for its role in community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) was lacking. The goal of this research was to evaluate the correlations of serum 8-OHdG with the severity and prognosis among patients with CAP through a prospective cohort study. A total of 239 patients with CAP and 239 healthy participants were enrolled. Fasting blood samples were collected. 8-OHdG and inflammatory cytokines were measured by ELISA. On admission, serum 8-OHdG was significantly increased in patients with CAP compared with control subjects. Besides, serum 8-OHdG was incrementally increased in line with CAP severity scores. Pearson correlative analysis found that serum 8-OHdG was correlated with clinical characteristics and inflammatory cytokines in patients with CAP. Linear and logistic regression analysis showed that serum 8-OHdG was positively associated with CAP severity scores. Furthermore, the prognostic outcomes were tracked. Higher serum 8-OHdG on admission increased the risks for intensive care unit admission, mechanical ventilation, vasoactive agent usage, death, and longer hospital stay among patients with CAP. Serum 8-OHdG combination with confusion, respiratory rate, blood pressure, and age ≥65 y or pneumonia severity index had stronger predictive powers for death than single 8-OHdG, CAP severity scores, or several inflammatory cytokines in patients with CAP. These results indicated that serum 8-OHdG is positively associated with the severity and poor prognosis in patients with CAP, demonstrating that 8-OHdG may be involved in the pathophysiology process of CAP.