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Title: IL-8 Levels Accurately Predict Survival in Paediatric Septic Shock

"IL-8 Levels Accurately Predict Survival in Paediatric Septic Shock"

CINCINNATI, Ohio – August 1, 2008 -- A simple measure of an immune system protein within 24 hours of being admitted to the hospital for septic shock can predict survival in children, according to a study in the August 1 issue of the [American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

The results may yield a powerful tool for diagnostics and clinical trials of new septic shock therapies, according to the authors.

The new study reports that an interleukin-8 (IL-8) blood level at or below 220 pg/mL should allow physicians to predict with 95% accuracy which children with septic shock can survive through conventional antibiotics and therapies for at least 28 days following admission.

"In addition, measuring IL-8 levels would make it possible to screen lower-risk patients out of interventional clinical trials of experimental therapies," said lead author Hector Wong, MD, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio.

For their study, Dr. Wong and colleagues obtained blood serum measurements and other patient information from 2 separate databases that included a total of 332 septic shock patients aged younger than 10 years.

Using statistical analyses of IL-8 levels obtained within 24 hours of hospital admissions, the researchers projected that a threshold of 220 pg/mL blood serum would have sensitivity for predicting rates of death in patients 75% of the time.

The subsequent analyses, conducted separately on patient data from both databases, revealed a much higher validation of 95% accuracy when using an IL-8 level of ≤220 pg/mL to predict septic shock survivability at 28 days following hospital admission.

"Using IL-8 as a biomarker to screen low-risk septic shock patients from clinical trials of experimental or potentially high-risk therapies is an effective strategy to improve the
risk-to-benefit ratio of a given intervention," said Dr. Wong.

"Excluding patients who respond to standard care would enable investigators to focus clinical trial enrolment on patients least likely to respond well to conventional methods and find the most effective new therapies."

SOURCE: Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center

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