Interleukin-6 Level And Its Relationship To C-Reactive Protein Level In Newborns With Sepsis and Necrotizing Enterocolitis

Abstract

Early recognition is important for the successful treatment and outcome of critically ill infants with sepsis and necrotizing enterocolitis

I 1 (NEC). As interleukin 6 (IL-6) plays a critical role in the induction of 1 [) C-reactive protein (CRP) synthesis in the liver it was hypothesized that

IL-6 levels are elevated in newborns with sepsis and NEC, that the magnitude of their elevation is correlated with mortality rate, and that they could be detected earlier in blood than the CRP. We measured plasma levels ofiL-6 in 45 newborns. 15 infants had bacterial sepsis, 15 had NEC, and 15 healthy infants served as study control subjects. At the onset of the disease IL-6 were twice times higher in infants with sepsis than in those with NEC. IL-6 levels were also higher in non-survivors than in survivors. IL-6 was more sensitive than CRP on admission in sepsis (100% vs. 50%), and in NEC (78.57% vs. 71.4 %).