otitis media with effusion in children and the impact of risk factors on serum cytokine levels

introduction:to evaluate the role of allergic-type and infectious-type cytokines in children with chronic otitis media with effusion (ome) materials and methods:we investigated serum levels of interleukins (il)-4, il-5, and il-13, along with interferon-gamma (ifn-γ) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (tnf-α), by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (elisa) in 35 children with ome and 28 healthy controls. results:children with ome had significantly higher levels of il-5 in comparison with the control group, ranging from 1 pg/ml in cases to 0.04 pg/ml in controls (p=0.009). however, after adjusting for confounding variables, there was no significant difference in serum levels of il-13, il-4, ifn-γ, or tnf-α between the two groups (p=0.287, p=0.627, p=0.793, and p=0.217, respectively) conclusions:the findings of this study suggest that in comparison with the control group, serum il-5 levels were elevated in ome cases.