Interleukin 8 correlates with intestinal involvement in surgically treated infants with necrotizing enterocolitis.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to test the predictive value of interleukin (IL) 8 in the assessment of intestinal involvement in necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC).


METHODS
Forty infants with surgically treated NEC were classified into 3 groups based on intestinal involvement during laparotomy: focal (n = 11), multifocal (n = 16), and panintestinal (n = 13). Preoperatively obtained serum levels of IL-8, C-reactive protein, white blood cell count, and platelet count were correlated with intestinal involvement using logistic regression models.


RESULTS
Interleukin 8 correlated significantly with intestinal involvement in infants with surgically treated NEC (odds ratio, 1.74; confidence interval, 1.27-2.39; P < .001). An exploratory IL-8 cutoff value of 449 pg/mL provided a specificity of 81.8% and sensitivity of 82.8% to discriminate focal from multifocal and panintestinal disease. An IL-8 cutoff value of 1388 pg/mL provided a specificity of 77.8% and a sensitivity of 76.9% to discriminate panintestinal disease from focal and multifocal disease.


CONCLUSIONS
To our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate a significant correlation of IL-8 with intestinal involvement in advanced NEC in a large patient population. Our results indicate that IL-8 may be a promising biomarker for assessing intestinal involvement in infants with advanced NEC.
Department of Pediatric Surgery, Medical University of Vienna, A-1090 Vienna, Austria. thomas.benkoe@meduniwien.ac.at
Thomas
T
Benkoe
Carlos
C
Reck
Andreas
A
Gleiss
Stephan
S
Kettner
Andreas
A
Repa
Ernst
E
Horcher
Winfried
W
Rebhandl
D016470:Bacteremia / Q000150:complications / Q000382:microbiology; D015415:Biomarkers; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis; D020345:Enterocolitis, Necrotizing / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D007235:Infant, Premature, Diseases / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D016209:Interleukin-8 / Q000097:blood*; D007422:Intestines / Q000473:pathology*; D007813:Laparotomy; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008297:Male; D011006:Pneumatosis Cystoides Intestinalis / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011300:Preoperative Care; D012372:ROC Curve; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
D015415:Biomarkers; D016209:Interleukin-8; D002097:C-Reactive Protein