Association of KL-6 Levels with Interstitial Lung Disease in Connective
Tissue Diseased Children, case control study
Abstract
It was aimed to evaluate the correlation between serum KL-6 levels with
both presence of interstitial lung disease (ILD) and its severity in
connective tissue diseased children, directing to early detection and
better management of interstitial lung disease in CTD children. This
study included 40 CTD patients divided into with and without ILD as
evaluated mainly by high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT), and
spirometric pulmonary function test as well as 20 normal controls to
detect the expression level of KL-6 by ELISA. KL-6 levels were compared
among the different study groups. In comparison of all groups of the
study, KL-6 levels were related positively with both presence and
severity of ILD at a cut-off of 63.4 U/ml, with sensitivity of 95.2%,
specificity of 89.7%, positive predictive value of 83.26% and negative
predictive value of 97.2% for ILD in CTD patients. Moreover, there is a
significant inverse correlation found between serum KL-6 levels and
parameter of spirometry. In conclusion, Serum KL-6 offers high
sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of ILD in CTD children and
is inversely correlated with pulmonary function deterioration.
Accordingly, serum KL-6 may represent a promising biomarker for
prediction and monitoring of ILD severity.