Relevant Cytokines in the Management of Community-Acquired Pneumonia

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is the leading cause of infectious death in the world. Immune dysregulation during acute lung infection plays a role in lung injury and the systemic inflammatory response. Cytokines seem to be major players in severe lung infection cases. Here, we present a review of published papers in the last 3 years regarding this topic. The cytokine response during pneumonia is different in bacterial vs viral infections; some of these cytokines correlate with clinical severity scales such as CURB65 or SOFA. Treatment focused in the cytokine environment is an interesting area that could impact the prognosis of CAP. Some of the agents that have been studied as co-adjuvant therapy are corticosteroids, macrolides, and linezolid, but anyone of those have shown a clear or proven efficacy or have been recommended as a part of the standard of care for CAP. More studies designed to define the role of immunomodulatory agents, such as co-adjuvant therapy in pneumonia, are needed.