“…PCT was measured by sandwich immunoassay using a VIDAS BRAHMS PCT kit (bioMerieux, Marcy L'Etoile, France) with a functional assay sensitivity of 0.05 ng/mL. Cytokines were measured simultaneously as previously reported [15]. In brief, IL1β, IL2, IL4, IL5, IL6, IL9, IL10, IL12p70, IL13, IL17, IL22, TNFα, and IFNγ were measured via a multiplex fluorescent bead assay using FlowCytomix (eBioscience, San Diego, CA, USA) and a BD Facs Canto II (BD Bioscience, Sparks, MD, USA).…”