L. Kavallierou, I. Zelenitsas, A. Provis, S. Kozoni, E. Giamarellos*,
C. Politis
3rd Regional Blood Transfusion Center
*Unit of Infectious Diseases
General Hospital of Athens “G. Gennimatas”
Introduction – Objective
Interleukin (IL)-6 is described as a sensitive marker for infection and strongly associated with severity of fever of unknown origin. The diagnostic usefulness of serum IL-6 in correlation with the existence of fever and the stages of HIV infection was investigated in this study.
Material and Method
We estimated IL-6 in 65 HIV patients. Twenty (Group A) HIV patients were entered into study if they had a fever episode of any reason (>38°C) and 45 (Group B) HIV patients had no fever. We also evaluated IL-6 in 100 healthy (Group C) control subjects. IL-6 serum levels were measured by ELISA (Pasteur). Detection limit was 4 pg/ml.
Results
A. Correlation between IL-6 and fever episode
| Groups | IL-6 (pg/ml) | p |
|---|---|---|
| A | 12.72 ± 4.72 | <0.001 |
| B | 6.08 ± 3.20 | <0.01 |
| C | 3.56 ± 1.28 | — |
B. Correlation between IL-6 and CD4⁺ count
| CD4⁺ /μl | No of patients | IL-6 (pg/ml) |
|---|---|---|
| >500 | 5 | 11.40 ± 4.01* |
| 200–500 | 3 | 11.84 ± 2.52* |
| <200 | 12 | 12.05 ± 4.25 |
| p = N.S. |
C. Correlation between IL-6 and the origin of febrile episode
| Cause | No of patients | IL-6 (pg/ml) |
|---|---|---|
| Fever of unknown reason | 4 | 14.00 ± 4.20* |
| Acute highmoritis | 10 | 10.97 ± 4.52* |
| Tuberculosis | 2 | 12.35 ± 3.74* |
| Gangosa | 1 | 12.05* |
| Infection pulmonar | 3 | 11.41 ± 4.01 |
| p = N.S. |
Conclusions
The relevance of IL-6 is confirmed as an important mediator of severe fever in HIV patients. It may be a useful tool for assessment of fever.
