Determination of Serum Levels of Interleukin-6, Interleukin-8, Interleukin-10, and Tumor Necrosis-Alpha and their Relationship With The Total Body Surface Area in Children

There are few studies on the inflammatory processes and the role of cytokines involved in pediatric burn injuries. The present study aims to measure the serum levels of cytokines and their relationship with the degree of burn injury in children. Within the 48 hours of hospitalization, the serum samples were obtained to measure inflammatory cytokines (interleukin-6, interleukin-8, interleukin-10 [IL-6, IL-8, and IL-10] and tumor necrosis factor-alpha [TNF-alpha]). The level of all of these cytokine factors was assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay technique. The mean levels of IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, and TNF-alpha was 18.15 +/- 4.77 pg/ml, 59.54 +/- 4.59 pg/ml, 8.41 +/- 2.09 pg/ml, and 1.48 +/- 0.15 pg/ml, respectively, which were higher than the normal range designated for the healthy pediatrics age group. The levels of TNF-alpha were higher in patients with sepsis (P = .03) and deceased patients (P = .001). There was a statistically significant difference in the levels of IL-8 in patients with second- (.001) and third-degree (.001) burn injuries in comparison to the first-degree burn injuries, and the level of IL-8 was statistically significantly higher in patients with electrical burn injuries in comparison to scald burn injuries (.01). IL-10 was statistically significantly higher in patients with contact burn injuries in comparison to scald (.001) and flame (.03) burn injuries. Cytokine levels in pediatric burn patients increased after severe burn injuries. There was a significant correlation between the levels of IL-8 and the degree of burn injuries.