The present study was carried to evaluate the value of interleukin-l (IL-l), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and circulating vascular cell adhesion molecules (sVCAM) as markers of disease activity in typhoid fever. Thirty nine patients were selected from patients attending Benha fever hospital and diagnosed as enteric fever and by bacteriological examination of stool and blood and by Widal test. Ten healthy individuals were examined, as control group. From all patients 24/39 patients were diagnosed as typhoid fever. The level of IL-l, IL-6 and sVCAM were measured in the serum of typhoid fever patients pre and after treatment with anti-typhoid drug (pefloxacin) by antigen capture ELISA. Before treatment, serum levels of IL-l and IL-6 were significantly elevated in typhoid fever patients when compared with healthy controls (P < 0.01), and no significant change was reported in the level of sVCAM. After treatment, serum IL-6 and sVCAM were significantly declined in patients sera as compared with their levels before treatment (P < 0.01). No significant change was reported in the serum levels of IL-1 in typhoid patients after treatment as compared with its level before treatment, also no significant change was reported in its level in the serum of responding and nonoresponding patients to treatment. IL-6 and sVCAM were significantly declined in the serum of patients responded to treatment when compared with patient not responded to treatment (P < 0.05). IL-6 had the best discriminative power in identifying active typhoid fever, being elevated in serum before treatment and was declined in the patients serum after treatment. Our data support the possibility that IL-l and IL-6 may be involved in the pathogenesis of typhoid fever and IL-6 may be a useful marker of disease activity and curing. |
