title: [Value of IL-6 and IL-8 in the diagnosis of neonatal sepsis].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore the significance of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and IL-8 in the diagnosis of neonatal sepsis.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a prospective study conducted between August 2014 and February 2015. A total of 140 neonates who were suspected infectious were enrolled and classified into a sepsis group (n=49) and a local infection group (n=91). Sixty-one neonates who were non-infectious served as the control group. Serum levels of IL-6 and IL-8 were measured before treatment and 3 days after treatment. The value of serum IL-6 and IL-8 for the diagnosis of neonatal sepsis was assessed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Before treatment, serum levels of IL-6 and IL-8 in the sepsis group were higher than those in the local infection and control groups (P<0.05), and the local infection group had higher serum levels of IL-6 and IL-8 than the control group (P<0.05). After three days of treatment, the serum IL-6 level in the sepsis group remained higher than that in the local infection and control groups (P<0.05), and the local infection group had higher serum level of IL-6 than the control group (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the serum IL-8 level among the three groups. According to the ROC curve, when the cut-off value of serum IL-6 was 32 pg/mL, the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of serum IL-6 for the diagnosis of neonatal sepsis were 87.8%, 79.6% and 81.6% respectively; when the cut-off value of serum IL-8 was 54 pg/mL, the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of serum IL-6 for the diagnosis of neonatal sepsis were 77.6%, 63.8% and 67.2% respectively. With the combination of serum IL-6 and IL-8 levels, the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy for the diagnosis of neonatal sepsis were 71.4%, 86.2% and 82.6% respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  IL-6 and IL-8 participate in the inflammatory response and the serum levels of both vary with the severity of infection. The diagnostic value of IL-6 for neonatal sepsis is higher than IL-8. The combined detection of serum levels IL-6 and IL-8 may increase the accuracy of diagnosis of neonatal sepsis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neonatology, Anhui Provincial Children's Hospital, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230051, China. lgh508@sina.com.
authors.forename: Feng-Xia
authors.initials: FX
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Guang-Hui
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood*; D016209:Interleukin-8 / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D012372:ROC Curve; D018805:Sepsis / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis
chemical_list: C508606:CXCL8 protein, human; C508600:IL6 protein, human; D015850:Interleukin-6; D016209:Interleukin-8; D002097:C-Reactive Protein