title: Cytokine serum level during severe sepsis in human IL-6 as a marker of severity.
abstract: Forty critically ill surgical patients with documented infections were studied during their stay in an intensive care unit. Among these patients, 19 developed septic shock and 16 died, 9 of them from septic shock. Interleukin 1 beta (IL-1 beta), tumor necrosis factor (TNF alpha), and interleukin 6 (IL-6) were measured each day and every 1 or 2 hours when septic shock occurred. Although IL-1 beta was never found, TNF alpha was most often observed in the serum at a level under 100 pg/mL except during septic shock. During these acute episodes TNF alpha level reached several hundred pg/mL, but only for a few hours. In contrast, IL-6 was always increased in the serum of acutely ill patients (peak to 500,000 pg/mL). There was a direct correlation between IL-6 peak serum level and TNF alpha peak serum level during septic shock and between IL-6 serum level and temperature or C-reactive protein serum level. Moreover, IL-6 correlated well with APACHE II score, and the mortality rate increased significantly in the group of patients who presented with IL-6 serum level above 1000 pg/mL. Thus, IL-6 appears to be a good marker of severity during bacterial infection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, University of Liège, Belgium.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Damas
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ledoux
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nys
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Vrindts
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: De Groote
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Franchimont
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lamy
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016470:Bacteremia / Q000097:blood*; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis; D002423:Cause of Death; D016638:Critical Illness; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007375:Interleukin-1 / Q000032:analysis*; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000032:analysis*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012769:Shock / Q000097:blood; D012772:Shock, Septic / Q000097:blood*; D015996:Survival Rate; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D007375:Interleukin-1; D015850:Interleukin-6; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D002097:C-Reactive Protein