Significance of Levels of IL-6 and IL-8 After Trauma: a Study of 11 Cytokines Post-mortem Using Multiplex Immunoassay

Purpose: To identify cytokines useful for diagnosis of traumatic death.

Methods: Post-mortem serum levels of 11 cytokines were assayed for 43 people who died of traumatic injury or from non-traumatic causes. Levels of granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor, gamma interferon, interleukin IL-1beta, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-13, and tumour necrosis factor-alpha were measured using multiplex immunoassay.

Results: Levels of granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (p<0.01), IL-6 (p<0.001), and IL-8 (p<0.01) among the traumatic group were significantly higher than those among the non-traumatic group. Anatomical trauma severity was also estimated using the total abbreviated injury scale and injury severity score, revealing significant positive correlations between the former and IL-6 (rs=0.6523, p<0.01) and IL-8 levels (rs=0.6584, p<0.01).

Conclusions: Levels of IL-6 and IL-8 assist differentiation between traumatic and non-traumatic death, are useful objective indices of trauma severity and can support a diagnosis of traumatic death.