Serum Interleukin-8 in Patients with Different Origin of Intra-Abdominal Infections in Perioperative Period

Intra-abdominal infections (IAI) are associated with high levels of pro-inflammatory serum IL-8 and poor outcomes, but data on IL-8 levels in various inflammatory reactions are contradictory. A better understanding of the diagnostic role of IL-8 is important, since the clinical relevance remains unclear. Methods: That was a single-center observational longitudinal cross-sectional study included 56 patients with various origins of intra-abdominal infections: 24 patients with postoperative abscesses, 12 patients with primary intra-abdominal abscesses, and 20 patients with diffuse peritoneal collection. Perioperative serum concentrations of interleukin-8 IL-8 were investigated at the day before surgery, on the 2nd-3rd day, and on the 5th-7th day after surgery. The hypothesis suggested that there was a difference in serum IL-8 in patients with IAI of different origin in the perioperative period. Results: The study showed that the level of serum IL-8 in patients with intra-abdominal infections of different origins is lower in comparison with healthy individuals. Despite the fact that we did not detect any statistically significant differences in the level of IL-8 in serum in IAI of different origin in the perioperative period, its lowest index was observed in the patients with postoperative abscesses on the 5th-7th days after surgical intervention. The levels of serum IL-8 ≤49.71 pg/mL and ≤48.88 pg/mL may serve as diagnostic markers for primary and postoperative abscesses with significant sensitivity and specificity. Conclusions: Our results differ from previous studies that showed high serum IL-8. High-quality clinical trials are needed to better comprehend the role of inflammatory mediators in IAI with different origin.