Urine interleukin-8 is a marker for urinary tract infection in postoperative patients.
BACKGROUND
Urine of patients with urinary tract infection (UTI) contains high levels of interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-8. However, knowledge of the kinetics of their release in urine is limited. We therefore compared the appearance of IL-6 and IL-8 in urine after uncomplicated surgery and surgery complicated by UTI.


METHODS
165 patients undergoing abdominal surgery who received a urinary catheter were studied. Urine IL-6 and IL-8 were prospectively measured in patients who did (n = 10) or did not (n = 20) develop UTI. Statistical analysis was done by one-way ANOVA and the Mann-Whitney test.


RESULTS
Although urine IL-6 increased in the 2 to 4 days preceding the bacteriological documentation of UTI, a similar increase was observed in patients who did not develop UTI. Urine IL-8 was elevated on the day UTI was diagnosed, while remaining low in controls.


CONCLUSIONS
In this patient group with postoperative UTI, urine IL-8 was a better marker for the early host response than urine IL-6.
Olszyna
D P
DP
Dept. of Experimental Internal Medicine, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Vermeulen
H
H
Baan
A H
AH
Speelman
P
P
van Deventer
S J
SJ
Gouma
D J
DJ
van der Poll
T
T
D000005:Abdomen / Q000601:surgery; D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000652:urine; D016209:Interleukin-8 / Q000652:urine*; D007700:Kinetics; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014546:Urinary Catheterization / Q000009:adverse effects*; D014552:Urinary Tract Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology
D015415:Biomarkers; D015850:Interleukin-6; D016209:Interleukin-8