Nt probnp kit

The differential count of peripheral blood leucocytes was determined using a fully automatic haematology analyser. Inflammatory cytokines were detected using a solid‐phase enzyme‐labelled chemiluminescent immunoassay (Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics Products Limited, Gwynedd, UK). Interleukin‐2 receptor (IL‐2R) is a cytokine receptor; however, it is classified as a cytokine by the assay method of Siemens AG and in the present paper the IL‐2R was also classified as a cytokine for conciseness of expression. NT‐proBNP was detected using an NT‐proBNP kit with electrochemiluminescence (Roche Diagnostics GmbH, Mannheim, Germany). Flow cytometry was performed to detect the lymphocyte subgroup counts (Becton, Dickinson and Company, BD Biosciences, California, USA). For individual patients, the absolute values of flow cytometry compared with the normal values will be more meaningful. However, given that we studied children of varying ages, we chose to use percentages to avoid this important difference because of the inconsistencies in lymphocyte maturity in children with KD of different ages. What is more, using a percentage of lymphocytes compared to an absolute count of lymphocytes makes the value less variable and more reliable, avoiding fluctuations and biases.

The differential count of peripheral blood leucocytes was determined using a fully automatic haematology analyser. Inflammatory cytokines were detected using a solid‐phase enzyme‐labelled chemiluminescent immunoassay (Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics Products Limited, Gwynedd, UK). Interleukin‐2 receptor (IL‐2R) is a cytokine receptor; however, it is classified as a cytokine by the assay method of Siemens AG and in the present paper the IL‐2R was also classified as a cytokine for conciseness of expression. NT‐proBNP was detected using an NT‐proBNP kit with electrochemiluminescence (Roche Diagnostics GmbH, Mannheim, Germany). Flow cytometry was performed to detect the lymphocyte subgroup counts (Becton, Dickinson and Company, BD Biosciences, California, USA). For individual patients, the absolute values of flow cytometry compared with the normal values will be more meaningful. However, given that we studied children of varying ages, we chose to use percentages to avoid this important difference because of the inconsistencies in lymphocyte maturity in children with KD of different ages. What is more, using a percentage of lymphocytes compared to an absolute count of lymphocytes makes the value less variable and more reliable, avoiding fluctuations and biases.