Effects of acetylcysteine on micro-inflammation and pulmonary ventilation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbation

Table 3 The serum interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha levels in the treatment and control groups

	IL-6 in serum (pg/mL)			TNF-α in serum (pg/mL)
Group	Baseline	End of treatment	Change	Baseline	End of treatment	Change
Treatment	38.4 ± 16.2	20.8 ± 10.4	-17.6 ± 9.6	8.6 ± 3.2	6.4 ± 2.8	-2.2 ± 1.2
Control	37.6 ± 15.8	28.4 ± 12.8	-9.2 ± 8.8	8.4 ± 3.0	7.2 ± 2.6	-1.2 ± 0.8
Mean difference (95%CI)	-12.8 (-18.4 to -7.2)			-1.6 (-2.4 to -0.8)
P value	< 0.001			< 0.001

IL-6: Interleukin-6; TNF-α: Tumor necrosis factor-alpha.