Introduction: Trends and the prognostic value of cytokine responses to severe burns have not been fully examined in humans. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the time course and prognostic value of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in the immediate post-burn period.
Patients and methods: Blood samples were taken for measuring IL-1 beta, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12p70 and TNF-alpha concentrations from patients with more than 20% burned surface area on admission and on 5 consecutive days. Development of sepsis was assessed using standard criteria twice a day.
Results: IL-12p70 remained under assay detection levels in the study period. IL-1 beta and TNF-alpha could be detected in stimulated blood samples with higher levels in survivors (n=21). IL-6 on days 4-5 and IL-8 on days 4-6 in non-stimulated plasma showed significant elevation in non-survivors (n=18) whereas in stimulated blood its levels did not differ significantly. IL-10 levels were significantly higher in non-survivors during the study period in non-stimulated, and except day 6 in stimulated blood. Using the cut-off level of 14 pg ml(-1) for IL-10 predicted ICU mortality with 85.4% sensitivity and 84.2% specificity on admission.
Conclusion: Early anti-inflammatory excess had a bad prognosis for patients suffering from severe burns.
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