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Tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-10 in viral and bacterial gastroenteritis in children

Ting-Rong Hsu1, Shu-Jen Chen, Tzee-Chung Wu

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, and National Yang-Ming University School of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.

Journal of the Chinese Medical Association : JCMA
|June 30, 2005
PubMed

Insights

Serum tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels can help differentiate between viral and bacterial gastroenteritis in children. TNF-alpha shows promise as a marker for distinguishing these infections.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Infectious Diseases
  • Clinical Immunology
  • Gastroenterology

Background:

  • Gastroenteritis is a leading cause of pediatric hospitalizations with significant morbidity.
  • Inflammatory mediators like C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), and interleukin-10 (IL-10) play roles in infectious and non-infectious diseases.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify reliable serum markers for differentiating viral from bacterial gastroenteritis in children.
  • To evaluate the diagnostic utility of TNF-alpha, IL-10, and CRP in pediatric gastroenteritis.

Main Methods:

  • Serum levels of TNF-alpha, IL-10, and CRP were measured in 31 pediatric patients with confirmed viral (n=17) or bacterial (n=14) gastroenteritis.
  • A control group of 15 healthy children was included for comparison.

Main Results:

  • Significantly elevated serum concentrations of TNF-alpha and CRP were observed in bacterial gastroenteritis compared to viral gastroenteritis and healthy controls (p < 0.001).
  • IL-10 levels showed a non-significant increase in both viral and bacterial gastroenteritis groups.
  • Diagnostic sensitivity and specificity were notable for TNF-alpha (78.6%, 88.2%) and CRP (92.0%, 58.8%).

Conclusions:

  • Serum TNF-alpha concentration emerges as a potentially valuable biomarker for distinguishing between viral and bacterial gastroenteritis in pediatric cases.
  • CRP also demonstrates high sensitivity for detecting gastroenteritis but lower specificity for differentiating etiology.
Abstract

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