Relationships of innate lymphocyte subsets and their activation factors with postoperative intracranial infection in patients with hypertensive basal ganglia hemorrhage

Objective  To investigate the relationships of the subsets and activation factors of peripheral blood innate lymphocytes (ILCs) with postoperative intracranial infection in patients with hypertensive basal ganglia hemorrhage.

Methods  A total of 105 patients with postoperative intracranial infection (infection group) and 105 patients without infection (non-infection group) were selected as research subjects. The patients in the infection group were divided into mild infection group (n=33), moderate infection group (n=50) and severe infection group (n=22) according to the severity of postoperative intracranial infection. The patients in the infection group were divided into good prognosis group (n=53) and poor prognosis group (n=52) according to different outcomes. The subsets of ILCs (ILC1, ILC2, ILC3), interleukin (IL)-12, IL-33, IL-1β levels in peripheral blood were compared among the groups. The correlation between each index and the severity of intracranial infection and the predictive value of poor prognosis in infected patients were analyzed.

Results  Compared with the non-infection group, the levels of ILC2 and ILC3 in the infection group were reduced, while the levels of IL-12, IL-33 and IL-1β were increased (P < 0.05). The levels of ILC2 and ILC3 in infected patients decreased with the increase of infection severity, while the levels of IL-12, IL-33 and IL-1β increased with the increase of infection severity (P < 0.05). The levels of ILC2 and ILC3 in patients with intracranial infection werenegatively correlated with the severity of infection (r=-0.721, -0.596, P < 0.001), while the levels of IL-12, IL-33 and IL-1β were positively correlated with the severity of infection (r=0.576, 0.483, 0.553, P < 0.001). The combined prediction of peripheral blood ILC2, ILC3, IL-12, IL-33 and IL-1β for poor prognosis in infected patients had a higher AUC (0.930) and specificity (84.91%) than each index alone.

Conclusion  The levels of peripheral blood ILC2, ILC3, IL-12, IL-33 and IL-1β in patients with postoperative intracranial infection after hypertensive basal ganglia hemorrhage are associated with the severity of infection. The combined detection of five indicators has a good predictive value for poor prognosis in infected patients.