title: Endotoxin and cytokines in patients with gastrointestinal tract perforation.
abstract: Plasma levels of endotoxin and various cytokines were assessed in 70 patients with gastrointestinal tract perforation. Sepsis developed in 29 of them, and eight of these (27.6%) had on admission endotoxin levels higher than 9.8 pg ml(-1). The clinical outcome correlated with the level of tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha), rather than with the endotoxin level. The high interleukin 6 (IL-6) level was shown in septic patients and no correlation was observed between the IL-6 level and the clinical outcome. Plasma TNFalpha levels tended to change independently from endotoxin levels, suggesting that TNFalpha may have been locally produced in inflammatory lesions.
authors.affiliation: Critical Care and Emergency Center School of Medicine Iwate Medical University 19-1 Uchimaru Morioka 020 Japan.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Endo
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Inada
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Inoue
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Otsu
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kasai
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kuwata
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hoshi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yoshida