To investigate the application of the Th1/Th2 cytokine profile in neutrophil deficiency (agranulocytosis) associated with infection after chemotherapy in patients with hematologic malignancies.

A total of 66 patients with hematologic malignant tumor with neutrophilia and secondary infection, 34 patients with hematologic tumor without infection after chemotherapy and 34 healthy volunteers from the physical examination center of Foshan Nanhai District People's Hospital from October 2021 to January 2023 were selected as the study objects. Flow cytometer microsphere array (CBA) technique was used to determine the peripheral blood and blood culture was performed simultaneously to explore the clinical significance of Th1/Th2 cytokine profile. Kaplan-Meier method was used to plot the survival curve of patients with particle deficiency and infection, and the log-rank test was used to compare the significance of the difference in survival.

The Th1/Th2 cytokine profile levels after granulosis were higher than before granulosis in patients with granulosis combined with infection, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05) . There was no significant difference in Th1/Th2 cytokine profile levels between patients without infection after neutropenia and before neutropenia (P > 0.05) . Th1/Th2 cytokine levels in patients without infection after neutropenia were not significantly different from those of healthy individuals (P > 0.05) . The levels of interferon-γ (IFN-γ) , tumor necrosis factor (TNF) , interleukin-10 (IL-10) , IL-6, IL-4 and IL-2 were higher in patients with neutropenia accompanied by infection compared to patients without infection after neutropenia (P < 0.05) . Among the 66 patients with neutropenia and infection, the three most common types of infecting bacteria were Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, accounting for 36.36%, 28.79%, and 12.12% respectively. There were 3 cases (4.55%) of infection with unknown pathogens. TNF, IL-10, and IL-6 levels were higher in patients with Gram-negative bacterial infections than those with Gram-positive bacterial infections (P < 0.05) . Among the patients with neutropenia accompanied by infection, 12 cases resulted in death, while 51 cases had no fatalities. The levels of IL-10 and IL-6 were higher in the patients who died from infection compared to those who survived (P < 0.05) .

The application of the Th1/Th2 cytokine profile in patients with neutrophil deficiency and infection after chemotherapy has important clinical significance, which can guide early clinical drug use, and the levels of IL-10 and IL-6 can be used as indicators to judge the severity of patients' disease.