title: Does treatment affect the levels of serum interleukin-6, interleukin-8 and procalcitonin in diabetic foot infection? A pilot study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate about serum PCT, IL-6 and IL-8 levels and how they are affected by the treatment in diabetic foot patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty patients' blood samples were taken to study ESR and CRP, IL-6, IL-8 and PCT before and at the 14th day of the treatment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The pretreatment results of the 50 patients showed positive correlations between PCT and either ESH (r=0.49, p<0.001), or CRP (r=0.56, p<0.001). Similarly, there was a positive correlation between IL-6 and ESH (r=0.46, p=0.001), just like as it was between IL-6 and CRP (r=0.54, p<0.001). At the 14th day, the levels of ESR (70 ± 30.2 and 58.4 ± 26.2, p=0.02), CRP (63.8 ± 73.1 and 18.1 ± 19.7, p<0.001) and PCT (0.6 ± 2.1 and 0.05 ± 0.02, p=0.007) were significantly decreased while IL-6 was decreased at a close range to statistical significancy at healing patients (97.5 ± 147.2 and 47.1 ± 77.6; p=0.05), but they did not at nonhealing patients. IL-8 levels were not changed anyhow.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  PCT was significantly decreased such as ESR and CRP were in the early phase of healing; IL-6 and IL-8 levels were also decreased by the treatment, but not statistically significantly. IL-6 and PCT were affected in correlation with the other inflammatory parameters in the beginning, but IL-8 was not. PCT and IL-6 may be useful like CRP and ESR in the diagnosis and follow up of diabetic foot infection, but IL-8 is not. Further investigation is needed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Dışkapı Yıldırım Beyazıt Research and Training Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Fatma Aybala
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Altay
authors.forename: İrfan
authors.initials: İ
authors.lastname: Sencan
authors.forename: Gönül Çiçek
authors.initials: GÇ
authors.lastname: Şentürk
authors.forename: Mustafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Altay
authors.forename: Selda
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Güvenman
authors.forename: Selman
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ünverdi
authors.forename: Ziya Cibali
authors.initials: ZC
authors.lastname: Açıkgöz
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis; D002116:Calcitonin / Q000097:blood*; D015740:Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy; D017719:Diabetic Foot / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007239:Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood*; D016209:Interleukin-8 / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011498:Protein Precursors / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; C000606589:CALCA protein, human; D015850:Interleukin-6; D016209:Interleukin-8; D011498:Protein Precursors; D002116:Calcitonin; D002097:C-Reactive Protein; D015740:Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide