Title:Evaluation of Urinary Interleukin-8 Levels in Patients with Spinal Cord Injury
Volume: 9
Issue: 2
Author(s): Monireh Rahimkhani, Alireza Mordadi, Sajad Varmazyar and Ali Tavakoli
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Interleukin 8 (IL-8), spinal cord injury (SCI), urinary tract infection (UTI).
Abstract: Background: Interleukins are a group of cytokines responsible for regulating inflammatory
and infectious responses. Interleukin-8 plays an important role in chemotaxis and functioning of
leukocytes and is locally produced in infected tissues; it is seen in abundance in the urine of individuals
with Urinary Tract Infection.
Material & Methods: Midstream sterile urine sampling was performed in different patients admitted
to the Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) research center. The samples were tested to determine the level of IL-8
through the ELISA method. The commercial kit used for this study was an R & D kit built in Germany.
Results: The mean level of IL-8 was 369.59pg/ml and 75.42pg/ml in male and female patients respectively. Among the
97 patients under study, 87 (89.7%) were IL-8 positive (>10 pg/ml) and 10 patients were IL-8 negative (<10 pg/ml).
Among the 87 IL-8 positive subjects, 64 patients had no UTI symptoms, while 23 did.
Conclusion: SCI patients should have their urinary IL-8 levels measured on a routine and periodic basis, irrespective of
their SCI severity or the presence or absence of UTI symptoms. The timely and effective diagnosis & treatment of UTI
can prevent the irreversible complications caused by frequent UTI and resistance to treatment in this group of patients.