Kallistatin Levels in Children Diagnosed with Bronchitis

Abstract

Background: The aim of this study is to evaluate the levels of kallistatin in the plasma of children diagnosed with bronchitis and to compare them with healthy control subjects. Methods: A total of 89 participants, including 16 patients diagnosed with bronchitis and taking medication with the diagnosis of tonsillitis (BT), 26 patients diagnosed with bronchitis only (B), and 47 healthy controls who attended the same outpatient clinic for routine control, were included in the study. Results: When we looked at the differences by dividing the patient group into 2 groups (B, BT), we found that the kallistatin levels in the BT group were significantly higher than both the B group and the healthy control groups. There was no significant difference in kallistatin levels between the healthy controls and the B group. We found that the AUC for kallistatin was 0.631 in the ROC analysis performed between the patient (B+BT) and control groups. Conclusion: Kallistatin levels were significantly higher in the patient group than in the control group. More comprehensive studies with repeated kallistatin measurements are needed to understand whether kallistatin levels are important in the diagnosis and management of patients with bronchitis and to confirm our findings.