Abstract
BACKGROUND: Mycoplasma pneumoniae (M. pneumoniae) is a common pathogen of community-acquired pneumonia. Interleukin-17 (IL-17) plays a role in host defense and contributes to disease severity in infection. This present study aims to investigate the association between Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (MPP) and changes of IL-17 level in the serum of pediatric patients. METHODS: The protocol has been registered in PROSPERO (CRD42023489451). A literature search was conducted in PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, and Web of Science from inception to October 2023. A meta-analysis was performed to pool the mean difference (MD) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of IL-17 levels between patients and controls. Publication bias was assessed, and the risk of bias was evaluated using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS). RESULTS: Out of 207 records, 10 studies were included in the review and 9 studies were included in the meta-analysis. Of these, 7 studies compared IL-17 in general MPP patients with controls, 6 studies compared severe MPP patients with mild MPP patients. Serum IL-17 levels were significantly elevated in general MPP patients compared with control (MD =33.94 pg/mL, 95% CI: 24.66, 43.22 pg/mL, P=0.01, I(2)=99.07%; P=0.01). Subgroup analyses showed a difference in serum IL-17 levels treated by macrolide between patients and control (MD =83.96 pg/mL, 95% CI: 76.62, 91.29 pg/mL, P=0.01). In severe and mild MPP, the IL-17 levels were significantly increased (MD =19.08 pg/mL, 95% CI: 11.51, 26.65 pg/mL, P=0.01) and heterogeneity was appeared (I(2)=99.39%; P=0.01). For the risks of bias, two studies had a "high risk" in comparability domain, and the 7 studies were classified as "low risk" and "unclear risk". CONCLUSIONS: Our meta-analysis revealed that serum IL-17 levels are significantly elevated in pediatric with general and severe MPP. IL-17 might be a potential biomarker or therapeutic target for pneumonia caused by M. pneumoniae.