Altered urinary interleukin-8/creatinine ratio in peptic ulcer disease: pathological and diagnostic implications
Taha, A.S.; Kelly, R.W.; Carr, G.; Stiemer, B.; Morton, R.; Park, R.H.; Beattie, A.D.
American Journal of Gastroenterology 91(12): 2528-2531
1996
ISSN/ISBN: 0002-9270 PMID: 8946980 Document Number: 467459
Objectives and Methods: To assess its clinicopathological and diagnostic significance, interleukin-8 (IL-8) was measured by radioimmunoassay in fasting urine specimens and in gastric mucosal incubates taken from 54 patients with dyspepsia. The presence of Helicobacter pylori, the activity of gastritis, and urine creatinine levels were also assessed. Results: The median urinary IL-8/ creatinine ratio was 0.1 times 10-6 in patients with current peptic ulcers (n = 13) and 0.2 times 10-6 in patients with a history of ulcers (n = 8), compared with 0.4 times 10-6 (p lt 0.0001) in patients without ulcers who were infected with H. pylori (n = 20) or not infected (n = 13). The activity of gastritis had a positive correlation with gastric IL-8 (r = 0.5870, p lt 0.01) and a negative correlation with urinary IL-8/creatinine ratio (r = -0.6447, p lt 0.005). The improvement in the activity of gastritis in 20 patients given anti-H. pylori triple therapy was associated with a significant fall in gastric mucosal IL-8 and a rise in urinary IL-8/creatinine ratio. Conclusions: An inverse relationship seems to exist between urinary IL-8 and the activity of gastritis and gastric IL-8. This may represent another concept in the pathogenesis of peptic ulcers and can assist in the noninvasive diagnosis of peptic ulcer disease.