Fig. 1

Plasma cytokine levels in CM children stratified by severity of brain swelling. Median plasma cytokine concentrations (pg/mL) at hospital presentation in CM children with varying severity of brain swelling on MRI, normal (score < 3, n = 23), mild (score 4,5, n = 58), moderate (score 6, n = 53), severe (score 7,8, n = 61); a IL-1β, b IL-10, c IL-6, d IL-12, e IL-8, f TNF. Kruskal–Wallis test was used for group analysis, p value of ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. The bar represents a median value