Interleukin-8 in Cord Sera: A Sensitive and Specific Marker for the Detection of Preterm Chorioamnionitis

Interleukin-8 (IL-8) exerts chemotactic activity on neutrophils at inflammatory sites to eliminate invading bacteria. To investigate whether the preterm fetus with chorioamnionitis produces IL-8, the titers of IL-8 were examined in sera of babies with (n = 38) and without chorioamnionitis (n = 34) u...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of infectious diseases 1992-05, Vol.165 (5), p.957-960
Main Authors: Shimoya, Kouichirou, Matsuzaki, Noboru, Taniguchi, Takeshi, Jo, Toushun, Saji, Fumitaka, Kitajima, Hiroyuki, Fujimura, Masanori, Nakayama, Masahiro, Tanizawa, Osamu
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anti-Bacterial Agents - therapeutic use
Bacteria
Betamethasone - pharmacology
Betamethasone - therapeutic use
Chorioamnionitis
Chorioamnionitis - diagnosis
Chorioamnionitis - etiology
Concise Communications
Endotoxins
Female
Fetal Blood - immunology
Fetal Membranes, Premature Rupture - complications
Fetal Organ Maturity - drug effects
Fetus
Histology
Humans
Infant, Newborn
Infants
Interleukin-8 - blood
Leukocytes
Lung - drug effects
Lung - embryology
Neutrophils
Obstetric Labor, Premature - complications
Pregnancy
Retrospective Studies
Sensitivity and Specificity
Steroids
Titration
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Interleukin-8 (IL-8) exerts chemotactic activity on neutrophils at inflammatory sites to eliminate invading bacteria. To investigate whether the preterm fetus with chorioamnionitis produces IL-8, the titers of IL-8 were examined in sera of babies with (n = 38) and without chorioamnionitis (n = 34) using an EIA kit specific for IL-8. The infected babies had a significantly higher IL-8 titer than those not infected at 22–36 gestational weeks. The IL-8 titer was increased even in the mild histologic stage of chorioamnionitis and became much higher in the more severe stage. The IL-8 elevation, however, was remarkably suppressed by infusion of a steroid into the mother to promote fetal lung maturation. This retrospective study demonstrated that titration of IL-8 in cord serum is a more useful marker for the early detection of chorioamnionitis, because of its higher sensitivity and specificity, than conventional markers such as C-reactive protein.
ISSN:0022-1899
1537-6613
DOI:10.1093/infdis/165.5.957