A Study of the Level of Interleukin 10 in Children with Immune Thrombocytopenia

Abstract

Background: Immune Thrombocytopenia (ITP) is a com-mon childhood blood disorder where autoantibodies destroy platelets by targeting glycoproteins on their membrane. ITP is classified as newly-diagnosed (≤3 months), persistent (3-12 months), or chronic (>12 months). The varied outcomes of ITP suggest multiple underlying mechanisms, including potential B-cell, T-cell, or mononuclear phagocyte abnormalities. Aim of Study: To measure Interleukin 10 level in Immune Thrombocytopenia patients. Patients and Methods: This case-control study was con-ducted on 60 children diagnosis as having Immune thrombo-cytopenic purpura regularly following-up at pediatric hematol-ogy clinic, pediatric hospital, Ain Shams University during the years 2023-2024. There were 32 males (53.3%) and 28 female (46.7%) with male: female ratio 1.14: 1. Their ages ranged from 2.5-1.5 years, with a mean age of 7.67 years and standard devi-ation of 3.22 years. Results: The study analyzed 60 ITP patients with a mean age of 7.67 years, revealing that most had mild bleeding symp-toms, with a median bleeding score of 1. Duration of ITP varied widely, averaging 8.08 months. A significant majority (93.3%) had a preceding infection, while recent vaccinations or drug in-takes were less common. Bleeding manifestations were more severe in acute ITP patients, who had higher bleeding scores and lower platelet counts compared to persistent and chronic cases. IL-10 levels were significantly elevated in ITP patients (mean 605.06pg/mL) versus healthy controls (mean 7.1pg/ mL), with levels highest in acute cases (mean 1061.9pg/mL) and lowest in chronic cases (mean 258.1pg/mL). This suggests that IL-10 may serve as a marker for disease severity and pro-gression, highlighting its potential as a therapeutic target and offering insights into ITP’s inflammatory processes. Conclusion: Elevated IL-10 levels were consistently ob-served across different phases of ITP, with the highest levels seen in acute cases and progressively lower levels in persistent and chronic phases. This trend strongly suggests that IL-10 is closely associated with the inflammatory activity characteristic of ITP, with higher IL-10 levels correlating with more severe disease manifestations. There was a strong negative correlation between serum IL-10 levels and platelet counts, indicating that as IL-10 levels rise, platelet counts drop significantly.