Role of interleukin-6 in differentiating interleukin-11 induced fever and early bacterial infection.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the role of Th1/Th2 cytokines (IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, TNF-α, IFN-γ) in differentiating interleukin 11 induced fever with C-reactive protein elevation from early bacterial infection.

METHODS

A total of 74 patients were enrolled in this retrospective study. Serum Th1/Th2 cytokines were determined using cytometric bead array (CBA) techniques. Whenever the patients had febrile disease or elevated CRP, systemic inflammatory signs, procalcitonin (PCT), blood culture and X-ray examination were done. The patients were assigned into infected and non-infected groups based on the clinical and laboratory findings.

RESULTS

The CRP levels in both the groups were significantly increased, but no statistically significant difference was found (P = 0.574). IL-6 levels of the infected group were significantly elevated with simultaneously elevated IL-10 levels in a proportion of the patients. IL-6 levels of non-infected patients were normal. IL-6 and IL-10 levels of infected patients were significantly higher than those of non-infected patients (P = 0.005, 0.015, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

For the patients treated with recombinant human interleukin 11 (rhIL-11), IL-6 and IL-10 measurements can be a useful adjuvant tool for the differentiation of rhIL-11 induced fever with C-reactive protein elevation from early bacterial infection.