Objective: To investigate the expression profile of human soluble triggering receptor on myeloid cell-1 (sTREM-1) in patients with multiple trauma and determine its clinical significance.
Methods: Peripheral blood of 52 patients admitted to the hospital from October 2007 to January 2008 with multiple traumas with injury severity score (ISS) > or = 16 and 7 healthy volunteers were obtained, and sera samples were isolated. sTREM-1 was determined by semi-quantitative immunoblot technique. TNF-alpha and C-reactive protein (CRP) were determined by ELISA.
Results: sTREM-1 of patients with multiple traumas was significantly increased as compared with that of control (P < 0.001), and sTREM-1 of ISS > or = 25 group was significantly higher than that of 16 < or = ISS < 25 group (P < 0.05). sTREM-1 level correlated closely with TNF-alpha level (r = 0.845, P < 0.05), but did not correlate with CRP (r = 0.426, P > 0.05). In patients with sepsis, sTREM-1 on 1, 2 and 7 d was (25.1 +/- 2.2), (31.9 +/- 2.6) and (25.2 +/- 1.9) ng/L, respectively. In patients without sepsis, sTREM-1 on 1, 2 and 7 d was (15.8 +/- 1.3), (24.2 +/- 2.0) and (13.9 +/- 1.5) ng/L, respectively. sTREM-1 of patients with sepsis was significantly higher than that of patients without sepsis (P < 0.05).
Conclusions: Serum sTREM-1 correlates closely with ISS, TNF-alpha and onset of sepsis, indicating that it may play an important role in the development of sepsis in patients with multiple traumas.