title: Can serum interleukin-6 levels predict the outcome of patients with right iliac fossa pain?
abstract: In patients with right iliac fossa (RIF) pain it can be difficult to distinguish between appendicitis and nonspecific abdominal pain (NSAP). In this study we sought to determine whether serum interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels, an early marker of acute inflammation, taken at the time of admission could predict the outcome of patients admitted with RIF pain. Data were collected in a prospective manner on 53 consecutive patients (23 male, 30 female), mean age 22.1 years (range 10-79 years). Nineteen (36%) patients underwent surgery, of whom 16 had appendicitis (histologically proven). The mean (SEM) IL-6 levels (pg/ml) in patients undergoing operation vs those receiving non-operative management were 270.8 (106.3) vs 265.0 (80.4) (P = NS). The mean white blood cell (WBC) counts (x10(9)/l) in these patients were 14.28 (0.81) vs 9.66 (0.67), respectively (P = 0.0002). When patients with a confirmed diagnosis of appendicitis were compared with patients with a diagnosis of NSAP, the IL-6 levels were 149.4 (69.1) vs 363.6 (113.2), respectively (P = NS). In the same groups of patients, the WBC counts were 14.21 (0.81) vs 9.51 (0.68) (P = 0.004). We conclude that IL-6 levels taken at the time of admission are not useful in predicting the outcome of RIF pain.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Northwick Park Hospital, Harrow, Middlesex.
authors.forename: A T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Goodwin
authors.forename: R I
authors.initials: RI
authors.lastname: Swift
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Bartlett
authors.forename: B S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Fernando
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Chadwick
mesh_terms: D015746:Abdominal Pain / Q000097:blood / Q000209:etiology*; D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001062:Appendectomy; D001064:Appendicitis / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002648:Child; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007085:Ilium; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D015850:Interleukin-6