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. 2009 Sep 27:17:49.
doi: 10.1186/1757-7241-17-49.

IL-6 predicts organ dysfunction and mortality in patients with multiple injuries

Michael Frink  1 , Martijn van Griensven, Philipp Kobbe, Thomas Brin, Christian Zeckey, Bernhard Vaske, Christian Krettek, Frank Hildebrand
Affiliations

IL-6 predicts organ dysfunction and mortality in patients with multiple injuries

Michael Frink et al. Scand J Trauma Resusc Emerg Med. .

Abstract

Background: Although therapeutic concepts of patients with major trauma have improved during recent years, organ dysfunction still remains a frequent complication during clinical course in intensive care units. It has previously been shown that cytokines are upregulated under stress conditions such as trauma or sepsis. However, it is still debatable if cytokines are adequate parameters to describe the current state of trauma patients. To elucidate the relevance of cytokines, we investigated if cytokines predict development of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) or outcome.

Methods: A total of 143 patients with an injury severity score >or= 16, between 16 and 65 years, admitted to the Hannover Medical School Level 1 Trauma Center between January 1997 and December 2001 were prospectively included in this study. Marshall Score for MODS was calculated for at least 14 days and plasma levels of TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, IL-6, IL-8 and IL-10 were measured. To determine the association between cytokine levels and development of MODS the Spearman rank correlation coefficient was calculated and logistic regression and analysis were performed.

Results and discussion: Patients with MODS had increased plasma levels of IL-6, IL-8 and IL-10. IL-6 predicted development of MODS with an overall accuracy of 84.7% (specificity: 98.3%, sensitivity: 16.7%). The threshold value for development of MODS was 761.7 pg/ml and 2176.0 pg/ml for mortality during the in patient time.

Conclusion: We conclude that plasma IL-6 levels predict mortality and that they are a useful tool to identify patients who are at risk for development of MODS.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
ROC curve analysis of IL-6 for the prediction of MODS (A) and mortality (B).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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