OBJECTIVES: DESIGN: Prospective, observational cohort study. SETTING: A basic science laboratory and the PICU of a tertiary-care children's hospital. PATIENTS: INTERVENTIONS: Prospective enrollment and collection of lower respiratory tract fluid samples. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: CONCLUSIONS: This study provides evidence that lung immune profiling via lower respiratory tract fluid cytokine analysis is feasible and may provide insight into clinical outcomes. Further validation of markers, including the C-C motif chemokine ligand 7:C-C motif chemokine ligand 22 ratio in this limited study, in a larger cohort of patients is necessary.
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