title: Interleukin 18 as an early marker or prognostic factor in acute pancreatitis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Acute pancreatits (AP) still reqiures better diagnostic and therapeutic options to be introduced in order to decrease its morbidity and mortality. It appears that the assessment of serum levels of interleukin 18 (IL-18) and its correlation with C-reactive protein (CRP) may provide adequate prognostic value.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To measure serum concentrations of IL-18 and inflammation markers such as CRP in patients with AP during subsequent hospital stay days and to assess the role of IL-18 as an early AP marker and prognostic factor.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-two patients aged 47 ±16.7 years were included into the study (17 males and 15 females), in whom AP was diagnosed based on ultrasound and computer aided tomography imaging and amylase. Serum amylase, CRP, and IL-18 levels were measured on the 1(st), 2(nd), 3(rd), and 5(th) days of hospital stay. All patients were scored "B" according to Balthazar and mild AP based on Ranson criteria. The control group consisted of 30 healthy volunteers aged 50.7 ±12.4 years (15 males and 15 females).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The average IL-18 serum level in the control group was 86.91 ±4.94 pg/ml. Mean IL-18 study group levels were 128.4 ±7.6 pg/ml on the 1(st), 112.0 ±4.4 pg/ml on the 3(rd), and 122.8 ±6.8 pg/ml on the 5(th) day of AP, and were significantly higher than those in the control group, accordingly: p < 0.001, p < 0.005, p < 0.001. A positive correlation between IL-18 and CRP serum concentrations was observed. A slight increase in correlation was observed as the days went by.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We concluded that the serum IL-18 level increases in the initial phase of AP, and it may be used as an inflammatory reaction marker in patients with AP, and it is correlated with CRP, which may indicate its prognostic role in AP.
authors.affiliation: Department of General and Transplantological Surgery, Medical University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland.
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Janiak
authors.affiliation: Department of Digestive Tract Diseases, Medical University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland.
authors.forename: Bartosz
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Leśniowski
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Diagnostics, Medical University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jasińska
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Diagnostics, Medical University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland.
authors.forename: Mirosława
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pietruczuk
authors.affiliation: Department of Digestive Tract Diseases, Medical University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland.
authors.forename: Ewa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Małecka-Panas
keywords: C-reactive protein; acute pancreatitis; interleukin 18