Serum SP-D levels as a biomarker of lung injury in children suffering of bronchopneumonia.

The efficacy of SP-D concentration as a useful biomarker of the severity of lung injury in children with bronchopneumonia with or without chronic airway disease was studied. A total of 48 patients (2 to 4 years old) diagnosed bronchopneumonia were admitted to Department of Pediatrics, Al-Dar hospital, Al-Madinah, Saudi Arabia over the year 2009. They were divided into two groups: G1 included patients without any underlying disease and G2 included asthmatic patients. They were assigned to one of three categories. Stage A patients without oxygen dosage, Stage B patients required oxygen dosage, and Stage C patients required ICU admission. We evaluated baseline characteristics, clinical features, and serum SP-D concentration in G1, G2, and G3a (healthy control cross-matched infants). The mean serum SP-D concentrations in G1 and G2 were higher than those in G3 (118.7 +/- 46.2 & 39.7 +/- 18.7 ng/ml, respectively), but also higher in G2 than in G1 (149.9 +/- 52.8 & 109.8 + 36.7 ng/ml, respectively). The mean serum SP-D concentrations were higher in Stage C than in Stages A or B patients, and mean serum SP-D concentrations were higher in Stage B than in Stage A.