Interleukin-8 Is a Powerful Prognostic Predictor of All-Cause and Cardiovascular Mortality in Dialytic Patients

Vol. 102, No. 2, 2006

Free Abstract Article (Fulltext) Article (PDF 194 KB)

Original Paper

Interleukin-8 Is a Powerful Prognostic Predictor of All-Cause and Cardiovascular Mortality in Dialytic Patients
Vincenzo Panichi^a, Daniele Taccola^a, Giovanni Manca Rizza^a, Cristina Consani^a, Lorenzo Ghiadoni^a, Cristina Filippi^b, Renza Cristofani^c, Erica Panicucci^c, Massimiliano Migliori^b, Antonino Sidoti^d, Marina Biagioli^d, Donella Boracelli^d, Giuliano Barsotti^a, Ciro Tetta^e

^aInternal Medicine and
^bDepartment of Neuroscience, University of Pisa, Pisa,
^cInstitute of Clinical Physiology, National Research Council, Pisa, and
^dDialytic Unit, Le Scotte Hospital, Poggibonsi, Italy;
^eResearch Extracorporeal, Fresenius Medical Care, Bad Homburg, Germany

Address of Corresponding Author

Nephron Clin Pract 2006;102:c51-c58 (DOI: 10.1159/000088923)

Key Words

Interleukin-8
Dialytic patients
Cardiovascular mortality
Chronic inflammation

Abstract

Background: Cohort studies have demonstrated an association between C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) and all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. Interleukin-8 (IL-8) appears to be not only the plasma expression of the acute-phase response but also a direct pathogenetic mediator of the atherosclerotic process. Methods: To evaluate the role of IL-8 in predicting outcome, 76 chronic dialytic patients were prospectively followed for 18 months. At baseline, blood samples were taken for analysis of high-sensitivity CRP, IL-6, IL-8 and other standard laboratory analyses. Results: Median IL-8 was 5.2 mg/l, therefore near half of the patients had IL-8 values within the range of 'normal limits'. IL-6 and CRP were significantly correlated (r = 0.45, p < 0.001) and a positive correlation was also found between IL-6 and IL-8 (r = 0.39, p < 0.001). The correlation coefficient between IL-6 and CRP was 0.43 (p < 0.001) and 0.50 (p < 0.001) in patients without and with history and/or clinical signs of cardiovascular disease, respectively. After a follow-up of 1.5 years, 8 patients had died from cardiovascular causes and another 7 patients for other reasons; furthermore 9 major nonfatal cardiovascular events were recorded. Stepwise regression analysis showed IL-8 as the strongest independent predictor of all-cause and cardiovascular events (p = 0.0025) even after adjustment for age and dialytic age, followed by IL-6 and CRP (p < 0.01). Conclusion: Despite a small population and a relatively short follow-up period, this study firstly demonstrated that IL-8 is a powerful independent predictive factor for cardiovascular and overall mortality cause in ESRD patients.

Author Contacts

Vincenzo Panichi, MD
Dipartimento Medicina Interna
Via Roma 67
IT-56100 Pisa (Italy)
Tel. +39 050 992887, Fax +39 050 553414, E-Mail vpanichi@med.unipi.it

Article Information

Received: November 10, 2004
Accepted: May 30, 2005
Published online: October 13, 2005
Number of Print Pages : 8
Number of Figures : 6, Number of Tables : 1, Number of References : 42

Medline Abstract (ID 16224196)

Download Citation

Cited In

For non-native English speakers and international authors who would like assistance with their writing before submission, we suggest American Journal Experts for their scientific editing service.